* Gold heads for 6th straight gain, up 9.6% this month
* Palladium off three-month highs hit early in the session
(Updates prices)
By Sethuraman N R
June 25 (Reuters) - Gold scaled a six-year peak on Tuesday
as a weaker dollar, prospects of monetary easing by the U.S.
Federal Reserve and simmering U.S.-Iran tensions continued to
stoke bullish sentiment in the market.
The precious metal has leapt 10% in four weeks, breaking
above technical resistance which has thwarted every rally for
half a decade to finally rise above $1,400. Spot gold XAU= hit its highest since May 2013 at $1,438.63
earlier on Tuesday, before easing slightly to stand $1,429 per
ounce by 1146 GMT, up 0.7% on the day.
The market is set for a sixth consecutive session of gains
and has gained 9.6% so far this month. The metal has added
around $100 in the past week alone.
U.S. gold futures GCv1 jumped 1.1% to $1,436.20 an ounce.
"The market is still catching up after prices broke through
the trading range that was in place for the last five years. We
are seeing continued fresh buying coming into the gold market,"
Saxo Bank analyst Ole Hansen said.
"The fact that other precious metals are completely left
behind indicates how there is a scramble to get into gold with
lower rates, growth concerns and tensions in the Middle East."
The U.S. Federal Reserve last Wednesday signalled interest
rate cuts beginning as early as July. The dollar index .DXY dipped to a three-month low on
Tuesday, making bullion cheaper for investors holding other
currencies. USD/
U.S. President Donald Trump targeted Iranian Supreme Leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other top Iranian officials with
sanctions on Monday to increase pressure on Iran after Tehran's
downing of an unmanned American drone. Indicating investor interest in gold, holdings of SPDR Gold
Trust GLD , the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded
fund, rose 0.37% on Monday, after posting their biggest
percentage gain in nearly 11 years on Friday. GOL/ETF
"We remain bullish toward price action with ETFs continuing
to see inflow and the dollar continuing to falter. However, it
is likely following the recent run higher that we will see a
period of consolidation into the financial year end," MKS PAMP
said in a note.
"Supportive interest should now sit toward $1,420, with
broad extension towards $1,400, while resistance is evident from
$1,440 - $1,450."
Investors looked to whether Trump and Chinese President Xi
Jinping would call a truce in their trade war at an expected
meeting at the G20 summit in Osaka later this week. Among other precious metals, silver XAG= was down 0.2% at
$15.40 per ounce and platinum XPT= gained 0.4% to $813.30.
Palladium XPD= fell 0.1% to $1,542 an ounce after hitting
its highest since March 27 at $1,545.87 earlier in the session.
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