* Precious metals recover from sharp pullback
* Gold to rebound to $1,410 - technicals
* World Bank's Zoellick says not advocating gold standard
* Coming up: U.S. initial jobless claims; 1330 GMT
(Updates prices; adds World Bank)
By Rujun Shen
SINGAPORE, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Gold bounced up nearly half a
percent on Wednesday, after pulling sharply off a record high
in the previous session, as worries about euro zone sovereign
debt kept market sentiment buoyant.
Spot gold rose 0.4 percent to $1,397.65 an ounce by 0644
GMT, off the all-time peak of $1,424.10.
Gold dropped more than $30 from the peak in the previous
session, triggered by a sharp sell-off in U.S. silver futures
caused by a 30 percent hike in margins as well as a stronger
dollar. []
But precious metals seemed to be recovering from the shock,
with silver leading the complex with a 2.5 percent gain, as
investors, concerned about unstable fiscal situation in Europe
and wary of inflation risks lying ahead, continued to buy into
the metals.
"Gold tends to be pretty resilient and finds a reason to
bounce back," said Darren Heathcote, head of trading at
Investec Australia.
Precious metals were set to test new highs after the
initial shock, he added.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Silver exchange-traded fund trading volumes reached 10
times the average, Graphic: http://link.reuters.com/fef64q
Gold price performance: http://link.reuters.com/juz44q
Greek, Irish bond yield spread: http://r.reuters.com/tuk54q
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
Holdings in the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded
fund, SPDR Gold Trust, had been steady over the past two weeks
at levels just above 1,290 tonnes. []
World Bank President Robert Zoellick said on Wednesday he
was not advocating a return to a gold standard for exchange
rates, days after he suggested the world's largest nations
consider gold as an indicator to help set foreign exchange
rates. []
Usually a stronger dollar suppresses gold prices, but the
greenback had risen half a percent against a basket of
currencies, while gold stayed in the positive territory too.
"It's about the euro. Worries about euro zone nations are
driving prices. People are wondering if Europe will continue to
deteriorate, or if it's just about one or two countries," said
the Hong Kong-based dealer.
The euro was trading below $1.3800, down almost four
percent from last week's peak around $1.4281, as investors
await the result of a government bond auction of Portugal,
which is seen by the market a possible candidate for a
Greek-style bailout. [] [] []
Spot gold is expected to rebound to $1,410 an ounce then
fluctuate between $1,387 to $1,410 for several sessions before
a directional move, said Wang Tao, a Reuters market analyst.
[]
For a 24-hour gold technical outlook, see:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/WT/20101011090227.jpg
In the world's top gold producer China, plans to deregulate
the gold market are likely to boost imports of the precious
metal to satisfy investor demand, putting the country on course
to overtake India as the top global consumer in a few years.
[]
Spot silver rose as much as nearly three percent to $27.68
an ounce, before easing to $27.55.
"After COMEX raised margins, some people liquidated their
positions because it would cost a bit too much. Now we are just
waiting for the U.S. market to return to see where the market
goes," said the Hong Kong-based dealer.
Spot palladium <XPD=>rose by half a percent at $693.72 an
ounce, after it shot up to a nine-year high of $740.72 in the
previous session.
Platinum gained 0.2 percent to $1,760.25 an ounce, off the
two-year high of $1,806.5 hit in the previous session.
Precious metals prices at 0644 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 1397.65 5.66 +0.41 27.56
Spot Silver 27.55 0.67 +2.49 63.70
Spot Platinum 1760.25 2.76 +0.16 19.99
Spot Palladium 693.72 3.50 +0.51 71.08
TOCOM Gold 3686.00 2.00 +0.05 13.10
66258
TOCOM Platinum 4676.00 15.00 +0.32 6.73
18706
TOCOM Silver 72.90 -0.60 -0.82 41.01
3848
TOCOM Palladium 1824.00 -39.00 -2.09 56.57
1538
Euro/Dollar 1.3777
Dollar/Yen 81.80
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Ed Lane)
