By Arpan Mukherjee Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES WELLINGTON (Dow Jones)--Gold hit another record high in early Asian trading, but the market remained volatile as mixed sentiment and renewed risk appetite limited gains. Spot gold touched a new high of $1,912.29 a troy ounce early in the session, before paring gains as regional equity markets rose. At 0541 GMT, gold was at $1,900.80/oz, up $2.70 from its previous close. The yellow metal slipped below $1,900/oz on profit-taking for a brief period but the downside remained limited because of continuing global uncertainty and a lack of conviction among traders and investors that policy-makers will be able to come up with a quick-fix solution for pushing growth and resolving the euro-zone debt crisis. But the strong rally since the start of July has moved the market to heavily over bought territory, according to some traders. "Gold definitely needs a break," Beijing-based analyst said adding that prices could still push through $2,000/oz soon. The yellow metal, seen as a store of value during uncertain times, has risen by more than 30% since the beginning of the year and by about 16.7% since the beginning of the month. Traders and analysts are increasingly expecting a correction as prices have risen rapidly in the last few weeks. Chief executive Ross Norman of London-based bullion brokerage Sharps Pixley said gold was in over bought territory by "any number of technical measures on the charts." The parabolic nature of the price chart in the last few weeks suggests that "we are ahead of ourselves and that a pullback would be healthy," he said. Despite high prices, however, physical trading appeared to pick up this morning with investors short covering on fears of higher prices, ANZ analysts said. Traders and investors will be closely tracking hints of any monetary stimulus by the U.S. Federal Reserve to reverse slowing growth of the economy when Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke speaks at an economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyo. Friday. "Metals will benefit in near-term trade from the expectation that Fed Chairman Bernanke (may) announce new methods of stimulus such as extending balance sheet maturities," MF Global analyst Tom Pawlicki said. Other precious metals saw mixed sentiment. At 0541 GMT, silver was at $43.61/oz, down 11 cents. Platinum was at $1,906/oz, up $5, while palladium lost $1 to $760/oz. Platinum had gained strongly along with gold Monday as investors sought to broaden their precious metals portfolio. , Both platinum and palladium enjoy investor sentiment and technical indicators are bullish but fundamentals remain a concern, Societe Generale said in a report. -By Arpan Mukherjee, Dow Jones Newswires; 64-4-471-5990; arpan.mukherjee@dowjones.com

Source