Dollar, pound fall on stimulus hope, gold surges

The U.S. dollar and the British pound fell against the euro on Tuesday as those countries' central banks were seen likely to provide more support to their economies, which sent gold to record highs.
The euro surged to a five-month high against the greenback and to a four-month high against the pound on speculation the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England were likely to pump more money into their anemic economies.
Gold futures rose to $1,310 an ounce and silver edged back near a 30-year high as a weaker-than-forecast U.S. consumer confidence reading boosted the precious metals' safe-haven appeal.
European stocks fell while U.S. shares were modestly higher after the September consumer confidence data and a report that U.S. home prices dipped in July.
The Fed is likely preparing a fresh round of quantitative easing measures to announce at the end of its November 2-3 meeting, hedge fund adviser Medley Global Advisors said in a report on Tuesday, a market source told Reuters..
The Fed is also weighing a more open-ended, smaller-scale bond buying program, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The Bank of England's Adam Posen became the first of the central bank's policymakers since November to urge pumping more money into the economy in order to prevent a repeat of the kind of slump Japan experienced in the 1990s. For details, see.
"The growing realisation that ultra loose monetary policies may debase currencies is leading to continuing safe-haven demand for gold. Gold is the only currency that cannot be debased and its value is not dependent on the performance of politicians and central bankers," analysts at GoldCore said in a note.
The weak U.S. dollar and low bond yields reflect falling investor confidence in the strength of the recovery, analysts said.
Gold for December delivery was trading at $1,309.90 an ounce after hitting an all time high. Silver edged near a three-decade high on the spot market after the U.S. data.
The Conference Board's index of consumer attitudes fell to 48.5 in September from a revised 53.2 in August, pressured by a weak labor market and business conditions.
U.S. home prices also dipped in July, hovering above multi-year lows according a Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price report.
"With unemployment at a 26 year high, confidence among consumers remains weak, and this decline in sentiment will give the Fed a stronger reason to increase stimulus in November," said Kathy Lien, director of currency research at GFT in New York.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 28.95 points, or 0.27%, at 10,840.99. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 1.95 points, or 0.17%, at 1,144.11. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 0.30 points, or 0.01%, at 2,370.07.
MSCI world equity index rose 0.19% and the Thomson Reuters global stock index gained 0.24%.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index closed 0.3% lower as investors shed riskier assets, while emerging stocks eased 0.03%.
The euro was up 0.99% at $1.3587 from a previous session close of $1.3454. Against sterling, the euro rose to around 85.98 pence from around 84.92 pence. Sterling was down 0.2% at $1.5795 dollars as investors bet that a resumption of the BoE's 200 billion pounds quantitative easing program was more likely.
Against the Japanese yen, the dollar was down 0.63% at 83.73 from a previous session close of 84.260.
The prices of U.S. Treasury debt rose as the latest data showing another drop in home prices and weaker consumer confidence added to expectations for more Federal Reserve support, pushing yields lower and extending Monday's rally.
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note was up 14/32, with the yield at 2.4814%.