Silver, Gold Rise to Records as Asian Stocks Fall; Yen Weakens (Shiyin Chen and Yumi Teso)

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gold-bullion Apr. 25, 2011 (Bloomberg) -- Silver and gold climbed to records and oil rose for a fourth day, while the U.S. dollar weakened, amid concern inflation will accelerate. U.S. stock futures advanced before a report forecast to show purchases of new homes increased from an all-time low.

Silver for immediate delivery surged 4 percent at 6:50 a.m. in New York after earlier jumping 5.4 percent to $49.79 an ounce. Gold climbed for a ninth day, while oil increased 0.4 percent in New York. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures rose 0.3 percent. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index slipped 0.2 percent as companies from Posco (005490) to Acer Inc. (2353) posted lower profits. The U.S. currency fell versus 12 of 16 major peers and Malaysia’s ringgit strengthened below 3 to the dollar for the first time in more than 13 years. The yen weakened 0.4 percent to 119.74 per euro.

China’s Shanghai Composite Index led losses in Asia after China International Capital Corp. said the nation’s consumer prices may rise as much as 5.5 percent this month. Singapore’s inflation held at 5 percent in March, a government report today showed. Data this week may show Japan’s retail sales sank last month and U.S. gross domestic product growth slowed, leading central banks from the two nations to keep interest rates near zero, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg.

“It’s very clear that some Asian countries will keep raising rates more while their economies are strong enough to see more hikes,” said Hideki Hayashi, a global economist at Mizuho Securities Co. in Tokyo. “On the other hand, market players expect the United States this week to suggest it would keep low rates for some time, which means more yield appeal for Asia.”