Feb. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Gold was little changed near a record in Asia as rising commodities prices and expectations for a U.S. interest rate cut weakened the dollar and boosted the appeal of the precious metal as a hedge against inflation.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke signaled borrowing costs may be reduced again to bolster the economy, sending the euro to an all-time high of $1.5144 yesterday and gold to as much as $964.99 an ounce. Wheat rose to a record in Chicago yesterday and copper in New York jumped to the highest since May 2006.

``The gold price continues to benefit from a host of factors including the strength of commodity prices, related inflation concerns, the fragility of the U.S. dollar and anticipation that the Fed will further lower U.S. interest rates,'' David Moore, commodity strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney, said in a report this morning.

Bullion for immediate delivery gained as much as $2.97, or 0.3 percent, to $960.81 an ounce and traded at $955.90 at 1:18 p.m. Singapore time. Silver traded at $19.19 an ounce, after rising to a 27-year high of $19.48 an ounce yesterday.

Gold for April delivery gained as much as $2.30, or 0.2 percent, to $963.30 an ounce before trading at $958.10 in after- hours electronic trading on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract reached a record yesterday.

An index that tracks the dollar against six major counterparts dropped yesterday to 74.213, the lowest close since its inception in 1973.

Dollar Decline

The dollar weakened past $1.51 per euro after Bernanke said in testimony to the House Financial Services Committee in Washington that the Fed ``will act in a timely manner'' to insure against ``downside risks'' to the economy. The dollar traded at $1.5108 per euro as of 1:20 p.m. Singapore time.

Gold ``looks vulnerable to profit taking'' as inflation concerns may ease when crude oil falls, Mark Pervan, analyst at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. in Melbourne, wrote in a report yesterday.

Crude oil fell below $100 after reaching record $102.08 a barrel in New York yesterday. Crude for April delivery traded at $99.67 a barrel at 1:16 p.m. Singapore time in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Bullion prices are finely balanced, factoring in record oil prices and further weakness in the U.S. dollar, Pervan said.

Gold may come under pressure as ``the euro is moving into an overbought position and market volatility in equity markets has dropped materially in the past two week,'' Pervan added.

Gold futures in Tokyo for delivery in December fell by 30 yen, or 0.9 percent, to 3,284 yen a gram ($961 an ounce) at 2:49 p.m. local time.

Gold for June delivery on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was little changed at 224.68 yuan a gram ($982 an ounce).

To contact the reporter for this story: Feiwen Rong in Singapore at frong2@bloomberg.net;

Last Updated: February 28, 2008 00:59 EST