Gold hit a record high for the fourth day in a row on Monday, boosted by growing expectations for U.S. interest rates to remain exceptionally low as the economy struggles, while silver came in range of 30-year peaks.
Data on Friday showed Americans were at their most pessimistic in over a year this month, as growing fears about job security and finances undermined U.S. consumer sentiment and painted a muted picture of price pressures.
This helped reinforce the belief that the Federal Reserve will signal its intention to resume large-scale purchases of government bonds to keep interest rates low when it meets on Tuesday, propelling gold above $1,280.00 for the first time.
Spot gold rose 0.3% to $1,280.20 an ounce by 0935 GMT, having hit a record peak of $1,283.35 earlier. U.S. gold futures for December delivery rose 0.3% to $1,281.70an ounce.
Confidence in the global economy is flagging and the prospect of low interest rates and a weaker dollar set a solid foundation for gold, which holds more appeal in such an environment as it bears no yield of its own.
The dollar slipped broadly on Monday, under pressure from speculation about the chances for a resumption of quantitative easing — the practice of buying debt to restrict interest rates. This in turn boosted European equities.
16% AND CLIMBING
Spot gold prices have risen by more than 16% this year, driven by the desire among investors for a safe store of value in light of major currencies, equities and bonds becoming incresaingly volatile.
Reflecting keen investor interest in gold was another rise in holdings of bullion in the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the SPDR Gold Trust, which rose by another 6 tonnes on Friday, bringing net inflows to 2.0 tonnes so far this month.
Adding to the economic uncertainty, a range of European data on manufacturing, consumer confidence and Germany's business climate could signal a slowdown in the recovery process.
Silver prices, which have risen by 17% in the last five weeks alone, were less than 1.5% below their highest level in nearly 30 years on Monday.
Silver has acted as a cheap alternative to gold for investors who have sought out safe-haven assets in which to park their cash, and even more so as gold has hit record highs this month.
Spot silver rose 0.5% to $20.87 an ounce, after reaching $20.99 on Friday, its highest in the past 2-1/2 years when it touched $21.24, its highest since October 1980.
The world's largest silver-backed exchange-traded fund, the iShares Silver Trust, said its holdings rose to 9,381.74 tonnes by September 17 from 9,343.69 tonnes a day earlier.
The platinum group metals rose in line with the rally in gold. Platinum held around its highest in four months, quoted at $1,620.00 an ounce and on track for a 6.6% gain this month, which would be its largest since November 2009.
Palladium hovered a few dollars below last week's five-month highs, quoted at $541.50, against $539.88.
