(Corrects term SDR to Special Drawing Rights)
* Geithner said open to SDR-linked currency system
* SPDR holdings jump to record 1,124.99 tonnes
* Gold market eyes equities, dollar
By Paul Lauener
LONDON, March 25 (Reuters) - Gold prices spiked up on Wednesday as the
dollar fell after U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner talked about a
system put forward by China that would replace the dollar as the world's
reserve currency.
Geithner said he was "quite open" to China's suggestion of moving
towards a currency system linked to the International Monetary Fund's
Special Drawing Rights (SDRs). []
That hit dollar sentiment as it could mean countries selling large
portions of their dollar reserves, analysts said.
Spot gold <XAU=> hit a session high of $940 an ounce.
"The dollar came off after Geithner's comments," said Eugen Weinberg,
analyst at Commerzbank. "Gold gained on the dollar."
A weaker U.S. currency makes metals priced in dollars cheaper for
holders of other currencies. []
However gold fell back when Geithner later said the dollar would remain
the world's reserve currency for a long time. Gold was bid at $929.85 an
ounce at 1617 GMT, up from $925.65 late in New York on Tuesday
[]
Gold used as a hedge against financial uncertainty has come under
pressure in recent days as stock markets rallied on optimism about the U.S.
government's drive to clean up bad loans held by banks. []
It is up about 5 percent from a six-week low of $882.90 hit on March
18, but is still more than 7 percent shy of the 11-month high above $1,000
set in February. It soared to an all-time peak of $1,030.80 in March 2008.
Investors piled into gold in recent months as the financial crisis
escalated, the dollar tumbled and markets started to worry about price
pressures in the pipeline because of the vast amounts of money being pumped
into economies.
"We believe that the aggressive credit easing by U.S. authorities has
come with the risk of a huge expansion in liquidity, and with it
inflationary concerns that could prove to be positive for gold further
ahead," Barclays Capital said.
Strong interest can be seen in the world's largest gold-backed
exchange-traded fund, the SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, which said its holdings
rose to a record 1,124.99 tonnes on March 24, up 10.7 tonnes from the day
before.[]
For details on the gold holdings of the ETF listed in New York and
co-listed on other exchanges, click:
http://www.exchangetradedgold.com/iframes/usa.php
For a graphic, click:
https://customers.reuters.com/d/graphics/MKTS_SPDRGLD240309.jpg
Spot silver <XAG=> was bid $13.45 an ounce from $13.40 an ounce on
Tuesday, palladium <XPD=> at $206 from $205.50 and platinum <XPT=> at
$1,115 from $1,114.
Platinum used in autocatalysts to clean car emissions has tumbled
alongside deteriorating sales in the auto sector. Prices have halved since
a record $2,290 in March 2008.
(Additional reporting by Pratima Desai)
(Editing by Keiron Henderson)
