* Bullion rises above $950, hits highest since March 23
* Safe-haven buying after S&P warning on UK debt
* Gold near session high, ignores US Senate gold sale news
(Recasts, updates with closing prices, market activity; new
byline, changes dateline, pvs LONDON)
By Frank Tang
NEW YORK, May 21 (Reuters) - Gold rose above $950 an ounce
on Thursday, nearly a two-month high, as investors flocked into
bullion as a safe haven as the dollar slumped and data hinted
the U.S. economy may not recover soon.
Gold remained near the session high even after the U.S.
Senate authorized support of the planned gold sales by the
International Monetary Fund (IMF). []
Traders cited news that U.S. continued jobless claims rose
to a record. Also, credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's
warned its outlook on Britain was now negative instead of
stable.
S&P's warning followed "an inflationary U.S. CPI report
last week, and that further bolstered the view that if
investors want to be in safe haven, it should be in gold," said
Rob Kurzatkowski, futures analyst at optionsXpress.
Spot gold <XAU=> hit a high of $954.80 an ounce, the
highest since March 23. It was at $952.50 an ounce at 2:37 p.m.
EDT (1837 GMT), up 1.7 percent from its late Wednesday quote of
$937.10 in New York.
U.S. gold futures for June delivery <GCM9> settled up
$13.80, or 1.5 percent, at $951.20 an ounce on the COMEX
division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
S&P said British government debt was in danger of soaring
close to 100 percent of gross domestic product. Its warning
sent global equities markets reeling. []
But some analysts said gold and other metals could be
overextended and a correction could be possible.
Zachary Oxman, managing director of TrendMax Futures, said
gold, industrial metals and energy futures looked overbought.
"I am a little bearish on commodities through the end of
the year," Oxman said.
PEAKS
A swoon on Wall Street also helped gold. []
"While the metal is likely to run into further scaled-up
resistance, the fact equity markets appear to have stalled and
inflation fears are on the increase should give gold increased
upward momentum," TheBullionDesk.com analyst James Moore said
in a note.
Platinum <XPT=> was at $1,143.00 an ounce, up a hair from
its late Wednesday quote of $1,142 late in New York on
Wednesday, while palladium <XPD=> was at $232.00 an ounce, up
0.9 percent from its previous finish of $232.50.
Silver <XAG=> was at $14.51 an ounce, up 2.1 percent from
its previous finish of $14.21. Holdings of ETF Securities'
London silver-backed exchange-traded commodity <PHAG.L> rose by
nearly 200,000 ounces on Wednesday, and are up nearly 1.5
million ounces in the last fortnight. []
(Additional reporting by Jan Harvey, Humeyra Pamuk and Michael
Taylor; Editing by David Gregorio)
