Gold hits record, silver reaches 30-year peak

Gold rallied to record highs in Europe on Friday, with spot prices knocking on the door of $1 300 an oucrusher and screening plant in indonesiance, as expectations grew that further quantitative easing may lead to increased volatility in the currency markets. Spot gold hit an all-time high of $1,299.95 an ounce and was bid at $1,298.30 an ounce at 1416 GMT, against $1,293.50 late in New York on Thursday.

US gold futures for December delivery hit a record $1,301.60 an ounce and were later at $1,299.60 an ounce, up $3.30. Silver also reached its strongest in 30 years at $21.45 an ounce, tracking gains in gold. Spot gold prices are struggling to take out resistance at the $1,300 an ounce level, but remain firmly underpinned by expectations of further weakness in the dollar, which slipped 1 percent versus the euro on Friday. [FRX/] "With the dollar getting definitely weaker with the pass of every session, gold has little work to do other than to head higher to compensate for dollar's slide," said Pradeep Unni, senior analyst at Richcomm Global Services. "Most of the market focus has been the extreme dollar weakness and possible impact on the currency as the market encounters weaker economic data."