Gold Reaches Record High Again...

...and a report on it has reached the front page of Marketwatch again. This time, it's rumors that the central bank of India is going to buy more gold from the IMF:

FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) -- Gold futures climbed to a fresh record of $1,180 an ounce Wednesday, after a report that India is open to buying more gold from the International Monetary Fund drew even more investors into the bullion market.

The U.S. dollar fell against other major currencies, further boosting gold's appeal as a hedge against inflation.

Gold for December delivery rose to a fresh contract high of $1,180 an ounce in electronic trading on Globex. It was last up $10.70 at $1,176.50 an ounce.

"The move higher was boosted by fund names and good interest from [Tokyo Commodity Exchange] buyers after the market responded to reports that India is open to buying more gold from the IMF," said analysts at Action Economics....

Another report, from the Financial Chronicle, speculates that the Indian central bank may buy the remaining 201.3 tonnes of gold that the IMF is offering for sale.

'Tis the season, and the rally makes sense given that demand. However, I'm old-fashioned enough to remember when IMF sales brough trepidation to gold bugs and a drop in the price. Here's an early 2007 piece from noted goldbug Doug Casey making light of proposed IMF gold sales. No need for hand-holding now...


Update: The Wall Street Journal's MarketBeat blog ascribes last night's rise to "an increase in Australian interest [rates] next week," which caused the U.S. dollar to fall. The Indian central bank isn't mentioned in the post.