Gold rose to a record high above $1,175 on Wednesday, the second time this week it has notched up a new high on solid investment sentiment and expectations of more gold buying by the public sector. Skip related content
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A recent purchase of 200 tonnes of gold by India's central bank sparked a rally that lifted the precious metal to successive record highs with it gaining about 12 percent this month alone.
The purchase was part of a planned sale of 403.3 tonnes by the International Monetary Fund.
Russia, Sri Lanka and Mauritius have also since announced gold acquisitions.
Kazuhiko Saito, chief analyst at Fujitomi Co Ltd in Tokyo, said investors continued to believe that other central banks may buy gold, although hopes were perhaps not as high as they once were.
"Gold is being bought even when the euro falls against the dollar, and what we are seeing is an active flow of funds," Saito said.
He added that gold could face a correction given the rapid pace at which it has climbed.
Traders say investors are also attracted to gold, which is seen as a hedge against inflation, which erodes the value of paper assets.
Spot gold rose to an all-time high of $1,175.60 per ounce, before drifting lower to $1,174.70 as of 0243 GMT, up 0.5 percent from the notional close in New York.
It topped the previous high of $1,173.50 touched on Monday.
U.S. gold futures for December delivery rose to a record high of $1,176.40.
The previous record high was the $1,174.00 marked on Monday.
Money has also flowed into other precious metals investment instruments.
The world's largest silver-backed exchange-traded fund, the iShares Silver Trust, said its silver holdings rose 135.98 tonnes or 1.5 percent from the previous business day to a record 9,252.02 tonnes as of November 24.
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust, said its holdings stood at 1,122.371 tonnes as of November 24, up 0.914 tonnes or 0.08 percent from the previous business day. <GOL/SPDR>
The dollar fell to its lowest in seven weeks against the yen on Wednesday after Japanese exporters sold dollars in early trade and the greenback slipped against other majors, dealers said. <USD/>
U.S. crude oil price hovered around $76 per barrel on Wednesday, after falling 2 percent in the previous session after data showed the U.S. economy grew at a slower-than-expected pace last quarter. <O/R>
(Reporting by Miho Yoshikawa; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
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