* Gold hits record high at $1,190 an ounce
* U.S. dollar index <.DXY> at 15-month lows
* U.S. stocks boosted by upbeat data ahead of holiday (Updates with U.S. markets close)
By Daniel Bases and Jennifer Ablan
NEW YORK, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Gold rose to another record high on Wednesday, and the dollar dropped to a 15-month low against a basket of currencies after a batch of U.S. data indicated the economic recovery was strengthening.
The data showing positive trends in the housing and labor markets and in consumer spending helped lift U.S. and European shares while driving government bond markets lower.
The dollar's drop ahead of Thursday's U.S. Thanksgiving Day also reflected the U.S. Federal Reserve minutes released on Tuesday that voiced increased confidence in the U.S. economic recovery and Russia's announcement it would diversify some foreign exchange reserves into Canadian dollars. [ID:nGEE5AO19O] [ID:nN24505472]
Federal Reserve officials said the recent fall in the foreign exchange value of the dollar had been "orderly," and appeared to reflect an unwinding of safe-haven demand, according to minutes from the U.S. central bank's latest policy meeting held in early November.
Even so, gold, which is considered a safe-haven in times of uncertainty, was the standout performer of the day as the weak dollar supported commodity prices. Gold was also fueled by a published report that India's central bank was interested in buying more gold beyond the 200 tonnes it purchased earlier this month from the International Monetary Fund. The IMF had no comment.
"Most commodities are rallying on the back of the weaker dollar, and that move is potentially quite significant," said Standard Chartered analyst Daniel Smith in London.
"Gold has been outperforming on the back of this general rally in commodities, and that tells us that there is more to this than just the dollar story," he said.
Spot gold prices
The dollar was down against a basket of major trading-partner currencies, with the U.S. Dollar Index <.DXY> down 1.10 percent at 74.241 from a previous session close of 75.068.
The euro
Dubai's government helped put the brakes on the dollar's slide after it said it will ask creditors of its two flagship firms for a standstill on debt worth billions of dollars as a first step toward restructuring Dubai World, a conglomerate that spearheaded the emirates' breakneck growth.
"The Dubai news was a surprise and helped halt the rally in the euro against the dollar as traders took some of their risky assets off the table," said Steven Butler, director of FX trading at Scotia Capital in Toronto.
U.S. stocks rose modestly in very light trade ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, supported by the data showing the recovery gaining traction and as natural resource shares gained with the weak dollar. For details, see [ID:nN25346193]
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was up 30.69 points, or 0.29 percent, at 10,464.40, while the Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was up 4.98 points, or 0.45 percent, at 1,110.63. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was up 6.87 points, or 0.32 percent, at 2,176.05.
MSCI's all-country world equities index <.MIWD00000PUS> rose nearly 1 percent, while European shares <.FTEU3> added 0.5 percent. Japan's Nikkei 225 index <.N225> gained 0.4 percent, pulling back from a four-month low hit earlier in the session after the index did not break below its 200-day moving average. MSCI's emerging markets stock index rose 0.7 percent <.MSCIEF>.
U.S. light sweet crude oil
Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasuries
It was a different story at the short end of the Treasury
yield curve. The two-year U.S. Treasury note