SINGAPORE, April 15 (Reuters) - Gold jumped to another record on Friday after the dollar fell to its lowest since late 2009 against a basket of major currencies, taking silver to its strongest since 1980, but trading was muted ahead of the release of key Chinese economic data. Unofficial figures on Thursday suggested Chinese data, including retail sales, industrial output and consumer inflation due at 0200 GMT, will probably be higher than expected. [ID:nL3E7FE0EO][ID:nL3E7F70G2] Spot gold rose $3.81 an ounce to $1,476.71 ounce by 0113 GMT, having hit a record high of $1,479.01 an ounce. "We see gold peaking at $1,500 an ounce. We think there could be some more upside in gold in the short term, especially in this environment of high inflation and rising oil prices," said Natalie Robertson, commodities strategist at ANZ. The peak of $1,500 would be reached by the end of 2011, she added. Dealers said worries about inflation had spurred steady physical demand from China, where the government has vowed to use all tools at its disposal, including bank reserve requirements, interest rates and the yuan's exchange rate, to wrestle inflation under control. [ID:nL3E7FD1LJ] Spot silver rose as high as $42.41 an ounce, a 31-year peak. The dollar fell against a basket of major currencies early in Asia on Friday but looked unlikely to extend losses significantly ahead of Chinese economic data. U.S. gold futures for June rose as high as $1,480.5 an ounce, a lifetime high. U.S. crude futures extended gains for a third day on Friday, supported by the dollar hovering at 16-month lows and no clear end to fighting in Libya that has cut supplies from the OPEC nation. IShares Silver Trust said its holdings edged up to 10,974.26 tonnes by April 14 from 10,969.71 tonnes on April 13. The holdings hit a record of 11,242.89 tonnes hit on April 8. Japan's Nikkei stock average opened lower on Friday and is expected to round off a week of thin choppy trade inside the tight range that has confined it since the start of the month, with resource and energy shares bouncing back after oil prices gained the day before.

Source