EURO VS. DOLLAR

Reuters: Gold Hits New High On Surging Euro

LONDON (Reuters) - Gold jumped in Europe on Tuesday to its highest in more than 7-1/2 years for the second session in a row as fund buyers seized on a surging euro and news that Barrick Gold Corp would reduce its forward sales to zero over time.

The chief executive of Barrick said the firm would no longer sell its gold forward at set prices, announcing a change in its long-established hedging policy.

Greg Wilkins told Reuters the world's third biggest gold producer and largest hedger would look at ways to reduce its forward sales program in a measured way.

"This represents one of the medium term shocks I've been highlighting that could happen in the gold market and that is that we might see faster than expected producer de-hedging next year," said John Reade of UBS Investment Bank.