By Lewa Pardomuan SINGAPORE, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Gold hit a lifetime high onWednesday, its 10th record in 12 sessions, as the dollardropped against a basket of currencies on expectations theFederal Reserve would take new measures to shore up theeconomy. Silver surged to a 30-year high as ETF holdings jumped toanother record, palladium rose to a five-month high to trackhigher base metals prices, while a firm yuan raised hopes ofmore buying from gold consumers in China. The Fed is likely preparing a fresh round of quantitativeeasing measures to announce at the end of its Nov. 2-3 meeting,a report by influential hedge fund adviser Medley GlobalAdvisors said on Tuesday, a source told Reuters. Gold rose as high as $1,312.05 an ounce and was at$1,311.55 by 0453 GMT, up $4.15 from New York's notional close.U.S. gold futures also surged to a record. "We are on a bullish mood. The economy in the U.S. is weakand the Fed will be launching some more rescue packages," saidRonald Leung, director of Lee Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong."The appreciation of the yuan causes some people in mainlandChina to buy a bit of gold." London silver fix price reached $25 in September 1980,according to The Silver Institute, a U.S.-based industrialgroup. Silver's main sources of demand are for use inindustrial applications such as semi-conductors and jewellery. The world's largest silver-backed exchange-traded fund, theiShares Silver Trust, said its holdings rose to a record of9,756.04 tonnes by Sept 28 from 9,613.02 tonnes on Sept 24. "Silver is cheaper is compared with gold. Even at $25, itis still cheap," Lee Cheong Gold's Leung said. "I would saysilver still attracts some buying. The industrial side has tobuy." The dollar extended its losses against a basket ofcurrencies to hit an eight-month low on Wednesday, hurt byrecent market speculation the Fed may embark on a second roundof quantitative easing later this year. The yuan rose to its highest level since the Chinesecurrency's July 2005 revaluation amid lingering pressure fromWashington on Beijing to let the yuan appreciate. U.S. gold futures for December delivery hit a lifetime highat $1,313.5 an ounce, exceeding Tuesday's record of $1,311.80. "Add federal budget deficits exceeding $1 trillion a yearfor several years to come, and an economy that can't produceenough to sustain Barack Obama's appetite to tax and spend, andinvestors are simply smart to short the dollar by loading up ongold," said University of Maryland business school professorPeter Morici. "That's why gold is $1,300 an ounce!" he said in a note. The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDRGold Trust, said its holdings rose to 1,305.688 tonnes by Sept28 from 1,300.521 tonnes on Sept 24. The holdings hit a recordat 1,320.436 tonnes on June 29. The physical market lacked activity, but premiums weresteady at 50 to 80 cents to spot London prices in Singapore andat 80 cents in Hong Kong. Precious metals prices at 0453 GMT Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chgTurnover Spot Gold 1311.55 4.15 +0.32 19.70 Spot Silver 21.83 0.14 +0.65 29.71 Spot Platinum 1645.50 13.85 +0.85 12.17 Spot Palladium 567.50 10.35 +1.86 39.95 TOCOM Gold 3542.00 36.00 +1.03 8.68 33732 TOCOM Platinum 4452.00 57.00 +1.30 1.62 10710 TOCOM Silver 59.00 1.10 +1.90 14.12 1335 TOCOM Palladium 1529.00 48.00 +3.24 31.24 494 Euro/Dollar 1.3592 Dollar/Yen 83.74 TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce. (Editing by Manash Goswami)

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