Gold hits 4-1/2 month high on Fed stimulus hopes

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Gold rose to the loftiest level since mid-April on Monday, extending strong gains from last week as expectations for further monetary easing from the U.S. Federal Reserve kept sentiment buoyant.

The Fed had room to deliver additional monetary stimulus to stoke economic growth, said the central bank's chief Ben Bernanke, boosting anticipation for easier monetary policy, which would lure investors to gold, a hedge against inflation as a result of rampant cash-printing.

"There are very strong expectations for the Fed's action, and the technical breakthrough last week will continue to boost prices," said Li Ning, an analyst at Shanghai CIFCO Futures.

Investors will closely watch the central bank symposium due to take place in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, later this week for clues on the next steps central banks will take to curb the euro zone debt crisis and stimulate global growth.

Spot gold was up 0.3 percent at $1,674.89 per ounce by 0324 GMT, after posting a 3.4-percent rise last week.

U.S. gold rose 0.3 percent to $1,677.80.

Technical analysis suggested that spot gold could rise to $1,693 per ounce during the day, said Reuters market analyst Wang Tao.

The European Central Bank is considering setting yield band targets under a new bond-buying programme to allow it to keep its strategy shielded and avoid speculators trying to cash in. Meanwhile, the Bundesbank likened ECB bond-buying plans to a dangerous drug, and a conservative ally of German leader Angela Merkel said Greece should leave the currency bloc by next year.

INVESTOR INTEREST RISES AHEAD OF JACKSON HOLE MEETING

Speculators raised their net long positions in U.S. gold futures and options to 140,126 lots in the week ended August 21, the highest since the beginning of May, said the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Investors also piled into physically backed exchange-traded gold funds, lifting the holdings of gold ETFs tracked by Reuters to a historical high above 71.4 million ounces.

"The key is Jackson Hole," said Nick Trevethan, senior commodity strategist at ANZ in Singapore, "Everyone is expecting Bernanke to play up the possibility and willingness to stimulate."

CFTC data also showed net longs in silver shot up nearly two-thirds to 17,452 lots, the highest level since early April, as silver prices rallied.

Spot silver hit $31.20, the highest in nearly four months, before easing slightly to $31.05, building on a weekly rise of nearly 10 percent, its strongest week since October.

Precious metals prices 0324 GMT

Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Volume

Spot Gold 1674.89 5.15 +0.31 7.10

Spot Silver 31.05 0.28 +0.91 12.13

Spot Platinum 1551.00 9.10 +0.59 11.34

Spot Palladium 652.70 4.20 +0.65 0.03

COMEX GOLD DEC2 1677.80 4.90 +0.29 7.08 9837

COMEX SILVER SEP2 31.04 0.41 +1.35 11.18 8907

Euro/Dollar 1.2507

Dollar/Yen 78.73

COMEX gold and silver contracts show the most active months

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gold-hits-4-1-2-month-high-fed-060549556--finance.html

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