Gold strikes record high vs. weaker dollar

Gold struck a record high on Friday, and silver hit $40 an ounce for the first time since 1980, as a weaker dollar and concerns about inflation sent investors piling into precious metals.

Silver exchange traded fund holdings jumped to an all-time high and gold holding rose to their largest since mid-March as a surge in oil and other commodity prices threatens to bolster already rising inflation.

Investors are also looking to the prospect of more declines in the dollar following the European Central Bank's first rate hike since 2008.

Spot gold rose as high as $1,466.40 an ounce, on track for a gain of 1 percent this week, Reuters informs.

Silver climbed to its most expensive level versus gold since 1983 as rising inflation spurred by commodity shortages, economic recovery and turmoil in the Middle East bolstered demand.

An ounce of gold bought 37.15 ounces of silver at 2:32 p.m. in Singapore, compared with an average of 62 in the past 10 years. Silver for immediate delivery has more than doubled in the past year while gold gained 27 percent, cutting the ratio from a high of 70 in June, Bloomberg reports.

"We find that there is a powerful relationship between income per head in Asian emerging markets and the gold price, which suggests further significant upside for gold," it said in the report. "Also, our FX team is forecasting further (dollar) weakness against the Chinese yuan and Indian rupee," according to International Business Times.