PRECIOUS-Gold scales record peak as gloomy economic outlook bolsters appeal

* Gold up more than 35% so far this year
* Silver hits over 7-year peak at $28.18/oz
* Interactive graphic tracking global spread of coronavirus:
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(Adds comments, updates prices)
By Eileen Soreng
Aug 6 (Reuters) - Gold surged to a record high on Thursday
as the COVID-19 pandemic clouded the economic outlook and
bolstered bullion's safe-haven allure, though analysts said the
rapid pace of gains could prompt some correction.
Spot gold XAU= hit an all-time high of $2059.09 per ounce
and was up 0.9% at $2,057.00 at 1153 GMT. U.S. gold futures
GCcv1 rose 1% to $2,069.
"It's the best of all worlds for gold at the moment; we
still have the coronavirus crisis in full swing mainly in the
U.S... We still have the question of whether the economy is
going to recover or will slip back into recession," said Julius
Baer analyst Carsten Menke.
Gold's gains came despite a slight uptick in the U.S.
dollar, which also benefited from receding risk sentiment as
investors awaited U.S. jobs data for confirmation on the state
of the world's largest economy, even as Washington remained
deadlocked over a large relief package. USD/ MKTS/GLOB .DXY
The U.S. jobless claims are due at 1230 GMT, while payrolls
figures will be released on Friday. USD/
"In terms of economic numbers, they would really need to
surprise to the upside to cool this market which is really
overheating at the moment," Menke added.
Gold has rallied more then 35% this year as it's considered
an asset that should hold its value while the pandemic and money
printing by central banks erode the value of others.
While the outlook for gold remains fundamentally positive, a
correction is also increasingly likely, analysts said.
"The problem is that sometimes a story is so strong that a
market rallies too quickly for fundamentals to justify, and when
price momentum begins to slow, those who got in too late give up
and sell out early. That can inspire a pretty rapid technical
correction," IG Markets analyst Kyle Rodda said.
Elsewhere, silver XAG= rose 4% to $28.11 per ounce, having
hit a more than seven year peak of $28.18.
Platinum XPT= rose 1.7% to $983.27 per ounce and palladium
XPD= was up 0.9% to $2,201.69.

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