* Gold slips as investors stay away, SPDR holdings down
* Technical neutral, biased to rise []
* Coming Up: US FOMC interest rate statement; 1815 GMT
(Updates prices)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Gold inched down on Wednesday
despite a weaker dollar as investors stayed on the sidelines
before an expected U.S. Federal Reserve decision to pump
hundreds of billions of dollars into the sluggish economy.
The outcome of the Fed meeting would be bullish for assets
such as gold if the central bank commits to buying at least
$500 billion in Treasuries over five months, as per
expectations, but dealers are not ruling out surprises.
[]
"I would say there is a risk of a downside surprise in the
event the Fed actually announces they commit to buying less
than $500 billion, or they commit in a more conditional way
upon future economic data," said a dealer in Singapore.
"It really depends on the magnitude and timing of the
purchases. All investors are trading cautiously."
Gold <XAU=> eased $2.40 to $1,354.60 an ounce by 0513 GMT,
off a two-week high of $1,365.49 hit on Monday. Gold struck a
record around $1,387 last month.
For a 24-hour gold technical outlook, see:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/WT/20100311082328.jpg
U.S. gold futures for December delivery <GCZ0> dropped $2.2
to $1,354.7 an ounce, having settled $6.30 higher on Tuesday
because of a weaker dollar.
The euro struggled to push higher above $1.4000 against the
U.S. dollar, which remained on the backfoot as the Federal
Reserve looked set to provide more stimulus to spur a flagging
recovery. []
A bigger-than-expected stimulus could further weigh on the
dollar, while a smaller programme could help the U.S. currency
stage a rebound, which could put pressure on bullion.
Weaker gold prices failed to attract interest from
jewellers, while sales of scraps from speculators also came to
a halt.
"Everybody is waiting. Both sides are quiet. There's not
much going on right now," said Dick Poon, manager at Heraeus in
Hong Kong.
The outcome of U.S. mid-term elections may not have any
direct impact on gold, but it could be positive for the dollar
on hopes for more fiscal austerity and reduced government
regulation.
Disenchanted U.S. voters swept Democrats from power in the
House of Representatives and increased the ranks of Senate
Republicans on Tuesday in an election rout that dealt a sharp
rebuke to President Barack Obama. []
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR
Gold Trust <GLD.P>, said its holdings slipped to 1,292.189
tonnes by Nov. 2 from 1,293.101 tonnes on Oct. 28. The holdings
hit a record 1,320.436 tonnes on June 29. []
Precious metals prices at 0513 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 1354.60 -2.40 -0.18 23.63
Spot Silver 24.80 -0.11 -0.44 47.36
Spot Platinum 1708.99 0.49 +0.03 16.50
Spot Palladium 636.22 -6.78 -1.05 56.90
TOCOM Gold 3527.00 5.00 +0.14 8.22
12834
TOCOM Platinum 4498.00 19.00 +0.42 2.67
2147
TOCOM Silver 64.80 0.30 +0.47 25.34
143
TOCOM Palladium 1673.00 -19.00 -1.12 43.61
224
Euro/Dollar 1.4011
Dollar/Yen 80.65
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Manash Goswami)
