(Recasts, changes dateline, pvs SINGAPORE)
By Daniel Magnowski
LONDON, March 3 (Reuters) - Gold edged closer to $1,000 an
ounce on Monday, setting a record high for the fourth straight
day as the dollar tumbled and as crude oil held near an all-time
high.
Silver jumped to $20 an ounce for the first time since
November 1980, while platinum and palladium held near their
recent highs.
Gold <XAU=> jumped as high as $984.60 an ounce and was
quoted at 978.00/978.90 by 1040 GMT, up from $973.30/973.75 in
New York on Friday.
Gold has gained around 18 percent in 2008 as investors shift
some of their money into the precious metal on expectations of
more interest rate cuts in the United States, volatile stock
markets and fears of rising energy costs.
"It clearly needs further weakness in the dollar to do that
(reach $1,000), but it doesn't look inconceivable," said Stephen
Briggs, economist at SG Corporate and Investment Banking.
The dollar fell to a record low against a basket of
currencies on Monday, as concerns about the health of the U.S.
economy intensified. []
"The weakening dollar is increasing gold's appeal as an
alternative investment, which has prompted a wave of fund buying
interest as investors search for a safe haven to protect the
value of their portfolios," analysts at Standard Bank said in a
report.
Still, some believe the precious metal may be vulnerable to
a reversal if the dollar changes direction.
"Gold is heavily overdue a correction. It has for a while,
but it just doesn't do it," Briggs said.
Crude oil <CLc1> held steady near $102 a barrel, supported
by a falling U.S. dollar and expectations that OPEC would leave
its output unchanged. []
Silver <XAG=> rose as high as $20.16 an ounce, up from
$19.80/19.85 an ounce late in New York, and was quoted at
$20.02/20.07 by 1048 GMT.
Spot platinum <XPT=> eased to $2,158/2,168 from $2,163/2,170
ounce late in New York. It hit a record of $2,192 an ounce on
Feb. 22 as problems with power supply disrupted mining in main
producer South Africa.
A South African minister said on Friday the country's mining
industry would get priority under measures aimed at cutting
electricity use to solve a power crisis. []
Palladium <XPD=> rose to $574/579 an ounce from $563/568 an
ounce late in New York -- within sight of last week's 6-1/2-year
high of $582 an ounce.
(Additional reporting by Lewa Pardomuan in Singapore;
editing by Chris Johnson)
