Gold hit a record high for the fourth day in a row Monday, boosted by growing expectations for US interest rates to remain exceptionally low as the economy struggles, while silver came in range of 30-year peaks. Spot gold rose 0.3 percent to $1,280.20 an ounce by 0935 GMT, having hit a record peak of $1,283.35 earlier. US gold futures for December delivery rose 0.3 percent to $1,281.70 an ounce. “Certainly, this will depend on macro data to come, but the pressure on the US central bank is gradually building and such a move would be supportive for gold as monetary base expands further and the dollar weakens,” said Andrey Kruychenkov, an analyst with VTB Capital, in a note. The dollar slipped broadly 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. Spot gold prices have risen by more than 16 percent 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. Silver prices, which have risen by 17 percent in the last five weeks alone, were less than 1.5 percent below their highest level in nearly 30 years Monday. Spot silver rose 0.5 percent to $20.87 an ounce, after reaching $20.99 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 tons by Sept 17 from 9,343.69 tonnes on Sept 16. 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, up from $1,60.55 on Friday, on track for a 6.6 percent 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. The dollar slipped and world stocks rose on Monday as the possibility the Federal Reserve could signal further economic stimulus spurred demand for higher-yielding assets. Expectations of further monetary easing drove the S&P 500 to a four-month high, above a key technical level.
