* Eyes on China, possible rate hike partly priced in
* Gold to fall towards $1,310-technicals[]
* Coming up: Fed Chairman Bernanke speaks; 1015 GMT
(Updates prices) )
Nov 19 (Reuters) - By Rujun Shen SINGAPORE,
Nov 19 (Reuters) - Gold prices steadied on Friday, holding
onto gains from the previous session, as a cure is seen
imminent for Ireland's debt crisis, which helped boost the euro.
Ireland insisted on Thursday its low rate of corporation
tax was "non-negotiable" as it discusses an aid package worth
tens of billions of euros from European partners and the IMF
for its shattered banks.[]
Spot gold edged up 0.3 percent to $1,357.30 an
ounce by 0711 GMT, on course for a weekly decline of 0.7
percent weekly decline. U.S. gold futures were
trading at $1,357.2. Investors are closely watching
China's monetary policy manoeuvres, after talk of an imminent
rate hike caused a sell-off in commodities this week.
Another rate hike might increase downward pressure on
commodities, but the impact is not likely to be profound as
the anticipation has been building and partly priced in,
analysts and traders said. "I think a rate hike, if
materialized over the weekend, is likely to exert a bit of
volatility for commodities, including precious metals," said
Yingxi Yu, an analyst at Barclays Capital. "But
fundamentally it doesn't change our views that China will
continue to grow at a robust pace. It doesn't change our view
that fundamental demand for commodities from China is not
going to be severely affected by a rate hike."
China's government has pledged to tame inflation, China's
consumer inflation reading hit a 25-month peak in October. For
a factbox on China's inflation, click: []
Spot gold is expected to drop towards $1,310 as the
downtrend is still short of a wave "e" development, said Wang
Tao, a Reuters market analyst. [] For a
graphic showing the 24-hour gold technical outlook, see:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/WT/20101911102335.jpg
In comments prepared for delivery to a conference of the
European Central Bank later in the day, Federal Reserve
Chairman Ben Bernanke made a full-throated defense against
criticism that the U.S. central bank's controversial
bond-buying program is debasing the dollar, saying a vigorous
U.S. recovery is central to global economic
health.[] Physical buying has been strong
in the region after prices dropped nearly seven percent from
an all-time high of $1,424.10 hit on Nov 9 to a hair below
$1,330 on Nov 16. "We saw buying interest below
$1,350 in the region, as people are betting on a price rise to
$1,500 next year," said a Hong Kong-based dealer. Spot
silver gained 0.6 percent to $27.08, headed for a
weekly rise of 4.2 percent. Spot platinum fell
0.4 percent to $1,654.74, down 1.4 percent on the week.
Prominent commodities investor and hedge fund manager Dwight
Anderson said on Thursday platinum output has possibly peaked
as the precious metal gets harder to mine, and prices are
likely to rise to record highs.[] But
platinum has lagged behind other precious metals, posting a
13-percent year-to-date rise, compared to a 73-percent jump in
palladium.
Precious metals prices at 0711 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 1357.30 4.65 +0.34 23.88
Spot Silver 27.08 0.16 +0.59 60.90
Spot Platinum 1654.74 -7.26 -0.44 12.80
Spot Palladium 700.97 7.25 +1.05 72.87
TOCOM Gold 3648.00 17.00 +0.47 11.94
61153
TOCOM Platinum 4477.00 6.00 +0.13 2.19
16642
TOCOM Silver 72.70 2.10 +2.97 40.62
3840
TOCOM Palladium 1863.00 51.00 +2.81 59.91
1054
Euro/Dollar 1.3671
Dollar/Yen 83.34
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
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