PRECIOUS-Gold hits record for 2nd day, eyes dollar

                                
 TOKYO, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Gold hit a record high for the
second straight day on Wednesday as weakness in the dollar and
economic uncertainty over Dubai's credit woes kept attracting
investors.
                                
 FUNDAMENTALS
                                
 * Spot gold <XAU=> rose as high as $1,203 per ounce before
trading at $1,200.85 at 0031 GMT, compared with New York's
notional close of $1,196.00.
                                
 * It set a previous high of $1,201.40 on Tuesday. Strength in
gold lifted other precious metals, with silver <XAG=> and
palladium <XPD=> rallying to their strongest levels since July
2008 on Tuesday.
                                
 * Spot platinum <XPT=> inched up from the previous day's high
to $1,486 per ounce on Wednesday, its highest since August last
year.
                                
 * U.S. gold futures for February delivery <GCG0> were at
$1,202.10 per ounce on the COMEX division of NYMEX, up 0.2
percent.
                                
 * The world's biggest gold miner, Barrick Gold Corp <ABX.TO>,
said it had completed the elimination of all of its gold hedges
as planned. De-hedging has represented a significant source of
demand in recent years. [ID:nN01487894]
                                
 * The rate at which gold miners cut their hedging positions
rose to 3.18 million ounces in the third quarter, up from 980,000
ounces in the second quarter, resulting in the global hedge book
at 11.55 million ounces, a report by Societe Generale and metals
consultancy GFMS Ltd said. [ID:nN01517195]
                                
 * The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the
SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, said its holdings rose 0.61 tonnes or 0.05
percent to 1,130.604 tonnes on Tuesday. [GOL/SPDR]
                                
 MARKET NEWS
                                
 * The dollar was on the defensive broadly on Wednesday while
the euro <EUR=> and high-yielding currencies extended impressive
gains as investor risk appetite showed little sing of warning
ahead of the year end. [USD/]
                                
 * The Dow Jones industrial average climbed to its highest
close in 14 months on Tuesday as a weak dollar boosted natural
resource companies' shares and economic data reinforced hopes for
a sustainable recovery. [.N]
                                
 * Japan's Nikkei share average <.N225> was down 0.2 percent.
[.T]
                                
 DATA EVENTS
                                
 * The following events are expected on Wednesday: <ECON>
                                
 - Japan Nov Reuters Tankan (2330 GMT)
                                
 - Euro zone producer prices for Oct (1000 GMT)
                                
 - Weekly U.S. mortgage market index (1200 GMT)
                                
 - U.S. ADP employment report for Nov (1315 GMT)
                                
 - U.S. Treasury Secretary Geithner testifies (1430 GMT)
                                
 - Fed releases Beige Book (1900 GMT)
                                
 RELATED NEWS
 >Gold at record $1,200, broad rally in metals, oil    [COM/WRAP]
 >Barrick closes hedge book early, stock soars    [ID:nN01487894]
 >Official-sector buys key for gold-BarCap's Spall[ID:nN01492618]
 >AngloGold agrees three-yr salary deal in Ghana  [ID:nGEE5B01TA]
 >New investor cash to flood commds-Standard Bank [ID:nGEE5B01RP]
 >S.Africa's Eskom cuts price hike request        [ID:nGEE5B001X]
 >Harmony halts ops at SAfrica mine after fatality[ID:nGEE5B00HT]
                                
 Precious metals prices at 0014 GMT
 Metal         Last      Change  Pct chg  Day ago pct  MA 30  RSI
 Spot gold    $1198.05    $2.05  +0.17%   +33.56%    $860.10   79
 Spot silver    $19.11    $0.04  +0.21%   +59.52%     $11.29   72
 Spot plat    $1483.50    $5.00  +0.34%    +2.17%   $1404.02   70
 TOCOM gold      3,352       26  +0.78%    +2.79%      3,211   67
 TOCOM plat      4,147       49  +1.20%    +3.18%      3,997   62
 Currencies                                              
 Euro/dlr       $1.508  -$0.001  -0.05%    +0.48%
 Dlr/yen         86.64    -0.09  -0.10%    +0.35%
 (Reporting by Risa Maeda)
 ((risa.maeda@thomsonreuters.com; +81 3 6441 1856; Reuters
Messaging: risa.maeda.reuters.com@reuters.net))
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