* Gold hits record highs above $1,260/oz
* Silver, PGMS swept higher
(Updates throughout with comment, prices)
By Amanda Cooper
LONDON, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Gold hit record highs above
$1,260 an ounce on Tuesday in its biggest one-day rally in four
months as the U.S. dollar declined broadly after upbeat data
failed to convince investors to shift into risk-linked assets.
Spot gold <XAU=> was at $1,265.30 an ounce by 1400 GMT, up
from $1,245.25 the day before, having hit a record high of
$1,267.20 earlier in the session. U.S. gold futures for December
delivery <GCZ0> were last up $19.9 an ounce at $1,266.80.
"The funds are certainly doing some buying ... who else is
it going to be? It's not producers buying it back, it's
investors. And investors, whether rightly or wrongly, believe in
this and that is the message," said ANZ head of sales Peter
Hillyard.
"It's going up for all the same reasons. People are fearful
still. Little things come into the market, little factors that
awaken people's interest in gold," he said.
The dollar extended losses on Tuesday to hit 15-year lows
against the Japanese yen and plumbed nine-month lows against the
Swiss franc, another key safe-haven asset, while euro zone
government bond yields also declined. [] []
The euro struggled against the dollar <EUR=> after a
surprise fall in an indicator of German investor sentiment.
Gold is on track for a 15 percent rise this year, fuelled
primarily by investors seeking an alternative to volatile
currencies, equities and some sovereign bonds as economic data
has cast doubt on the global growth outlook.
"All four precious metals are really keeping a very close
eye on the U.S. dollar right now and if the dollar doesn't
'shape up,' as such, this safe-haven buying will continue in the
precious metals," said Afshin Nabavi, head of trading at MKS
Finance.
Although the gold price has held within a few dollars of
record highs for a few weeks, the market is now in the full
throes of the buying season in some of the world's biggest
consumers, who seem undeterred by the price strength.
Across the rest of the precious metals complex, silver
traded at its highest in 2-1/2 years, helped by robust Chinese
industrial output and firm base metals, although the safe-haven
effect boosting gold was also a driving force. []
Spot silver <XAG=> was last at $20.32 an ounce, up from
$20.02 the day before and on course for its third consecutive
day of gains.
In the platinum group metals, palladium <XPD=> hit its
highest in four months, trading just shy of $550 an ounce.
Palladium, which is predominantly used in the production of
auto catalysts, is on track for a 33 percent increase this year
and is one of the top performers of the commodities complex.
Palladium was last at $548.00 up from $524.95 on Monday, set
for its biggest daily rally since late May, while sister metal
platinum <XPT=> was last quoted at $1,575.00 an ounce, up from
$1,543.65 the day before and around six-week highs.
(Editing by Sue Thomas)
