* Technical buying, inflation concerns boost gold
* New inflows into GLD, gold exchange traded funds
* Data shows U.S consumer confidence improves
(Recasts, updates prices, market activity; adds second byline,
dateline, previously LONDON)
By Frank Tang and Paul Lauener
NEW YORK/LONDON, March 13 (Reuters) - Gold firmed Friday on
a combination of weaker dollar, technical buying and fears that
a Swiss example would lead to a series of currency
devaluations, boosting investor demand for the yellow metal.
News that the Swiss National Bank had moved to rein in the
franc's strength to boost the economy and news of fresh inflows
into exchange-traded funds (ETFs) fueled buying of the precious
metal, Calyon metals analyst Robin Bhar said.
"Those two pieces of information should allow gold to...
maybe now test the resistance around $930/$940," Bhar said.
Spot gold <XAU=> was at $927.55 an ounce at 2:10 p.m. EDT
(1810 GMT), up 0.1 percent from its last quote $926.65 late in
New York on Thursday.
U.S. gold futures for April delivery <GCJ9> settled up
$6.10 at $930.10 an ounce on the COMEX division of the New York
Mercantile Exchange.
U.S. stocks rose after preliminary March data showed an
unexpected improvement in U.S. consumer confidence, pressuring
gold from its earlier highs. []
The precious metal rallied on Thursday after the SNB sold
Swiss francs against the euro, a move that was seen opening the
door to the use of currencies as a policy tool. []
If other central banks follow the SNB's lead, paper
currencies could suffer, boosting the appeal of gold as an
alternative asset.
Interest in gold also has been boosted by news that
holdings of the largest gold ETF, New York's SPDR Gold Trust,
rose 3.36 tonnes on Thursday to a record 1,041.53 tonnes,
overtaking the SNB as the world's sixth-largest holder of
gold.
Buying of physical gold to back ETFs has represented a
major part of demand in recent months, with a sharp rise in ETF
holdings at the beginning of the year a key factor in gold's
price rally.
Mounting concerns about long-term inflation also helped
gold, following massive economy stimulus plans by governments.
"Gold can go over $1,000 when we start getting inflation,
which is going to be inevitable here," said Zachary Oxman,
senior trader at Wisdom Financial.
HEDGE AGAINST FALLING DOLLAR
The dollar weakened to a 2-1/2 week low against the euro.
Although gold and the dollar are moving in the same
direction due to risk aversion, a weaker dollar usually boosts
gold, which investors buy as a hedge.
China's central bank said in its annual international
financial markets report that gold could be set to climb to
record highs in the context of the financial crisis.
[]
Among other precious metals, spot silver <XAG=> was at
$13.16 an ounce, up 1.7 percent from its Thursday finish of
$12.94 late on Thursday.
Spot platinum <XPT=> was at $1,054.00 an ounce, up 0.4
percent from its previous close of $1,049.50, while spot
palladium <XPD=> was firmer at $197.50 an ounce, up 1.3 percent
from its late Thursday New York quote $195.
Both metals, which have mainly industrial uses, have
suffered from the economic slowdown, and especially a fall in
demand for cars.
(Additional reporting by Jan Harvey and Pratima Desai; Editing
by David Gregorio)
