* SPDR Gold Trust holdings jump 1.5 pct; iShares holdings rise
* Gold targets $1,518 -technicals [ID:nL3E7FI041]
* Coming up: U.S. NAHB housing market index, April; 1400 GMT (Adds comment, detail; updates prices)
By Rujun Shen
SINGAPORE, April 18 (Reuters) - Spot gold hit a record high and silver rose to a 31-year high on Monday, fuelled by concerns of rising inflation globally, and as a lingering euro zone sovereign debt crisis continued to boost safe-haven demand in precious metals.
Spot gold hit a record of $1,488.50 an ounce, before
easing to $1,484.29 by 0252 GMT. U.S. gold futures
"It wouldn't be a surprise to see gold push higher in the current environment," said Darren Heathcote, head of trading at Investec Australia, adding that investors were concerned about inflation, especially when oil prices remain high.
U.S. crude futures
Inflation accelerated in Asia and Europe in March while the United States bucked the global trend with underlying price pressures largely in check, leaving monetary policy on diverging paths around the world.[ID:nL3E7FF17]
The lingering euro zone debt crisis also helped lift gold prices. [ID:nTOPEURO]
Technical analysis indicated that gold may target $1,518 an ounce, said Reuters market analyst Wang Tao. [ID:nL3E7FI041]
Reflecting growing investment interest, holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust , the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, jumped 1.5 percent to a nearly three-month high of 1,231.159 tonnes.
SILVER RISES TO 31-YEAR HIGH
Spot silver rose to 31-year highs for the third consecutive session, hitting $43.34 an ounce. It was trading at $43.28.
"Silver's rally has been dumbfounding," said a Tokyo-based trader. "Bears are very weak now after silver has steadily climbed from under $30 to $43 in less than two months."
But he said that investors' enthusiasm had eased slightly since silver breached above the $40 threshold last week.
Holdings in the world's largest silver-backed exchange-traded fund, iShares Silver Trust , gained 0.64 percent to 11,044.07 tonnes by April 15, down 1.5 percent from a week earlier.
Gold-silver ratio, used to measure how many ounces of silver is needed to buy an ounce of gold, fell to below 35, its lowest since the early 1980s.
It compares to an average of 65 over the past three decades. But the ratio could drop further as investors continue to favour silver.
Spot silver has rallied 40 percent so far this year, making gold's 4.6 percent gain negligible. Precious metals prices 0252 GMT Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Volume Spot Gold 1484.29 0.54 +0.04 4.57 Spot Silver 43.28 0.29 +0.67 40.25 Spot Platinum 1787.24 4.54 +0.25 1.12 Spot Palladium 761.72 1.17 +0.15 -4.73 TOCOM Gold 3973.00 11.00 +0.28 6.54 37470 TOCOM Platinum 4808.00 -22.00 -0.46 2.39 6087 TOCOM Silver 115.50 2.10 +1.85 42.59 1812 TOCOM Palladium 2043.00 -30.00 -1.45 -2.58 153 COMEX GOLD JUN1 1486.60 0.60 +0.04 4.59 7904 COMEX SILVER MAY1 43.32 0.74 +1.75 40.00 9760 Euro/Dollar 1.4384 Dollar/Yen 82.91 TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce. COMEX gold and silver contracts show the most active months
(Editing by Clarence Fernandez)