* Indian physical buying props up bullion prices
* Weaker dollar, safe-haven buying boost gold
* SPDR Gold holdings hold steady
(Recasts, adds comments/details, changes dateline pvs TOKYO)
By Michael Taylor
LONDON, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Gold climbed above $1,100 an
ounce in Europe on Monday as the dollar eased broadly, while
renewed physical and safe-haven buying also helped support
prices.
Gold <XAU=> was bid at $1,103 an ounce by 1100 GMT, against
$1,091.65 an ounce on Friday. U.S. gold futures for February
delivery <GCG0> were at $1,103.7 per ounce, up 1.3 percent.
"They are recovering a bit," said Eugen Weinberg, an analyst
at Commerzbank. "The slump of the last week might be considered
by some bargain hunters as being an excessive one.
"Some see in gold protection going forward, if the
correction on equity markets continues ... but also there is
some physical buying at the current levels after the strong
decreases."
India, historically the world's top gold consumer, continued
buying, with limited quantities changing hands below the $1,100
an ounce level, dealers said. []
Also supporting bullion was a decline in the dollar against
the euro and other higher-yielding currencies, as some investors
took profits on the U.S. currency's broad gains last week.
Reports that embattled Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke
was edging closer to winning confirmation to serve a second term
also calmed markets, tarnishing the dollar's safe-haven appeal,
after his prospects were seen to be shaky last week.
[]
On Friday, gold hit a near five-week low at $1,081.90,
bringing its losses for the week to over 3 percent, after U.S.
President Barack Obama's proposal to limit financial risk-taking
hit the broader commodities markets.
Obama's plans to restrict banks or financial institutions
from associating with a hedge fund or a private equity fund,
which was unveiled on Thursday, caused stocks and commodities to
tumble. []
"The noose certainly seems to be tightening around the gold
bulls with President Barack Obama's proposal to limit financial
risk-taking, especially by the banking sector and also due to
the growing expectations that China will continue to tighten its
monetary stance," said Pradeep Unni, senior analyst and trader
at Richcomm Global Services.
"The markets will continue to be volatile as the month ends,
but the technical damage done in Friday's session hints that we
have further downside targets in gold at the moment," he added.
There are signs that China, the world's largest gold
producer, could move to tighten monetary policy to rein in its
booming economy. []
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the
SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, said its holdings stood at 1,111.922
tonnes as of Jan. 22, unchanged from the previous business day.
[]
Palladium prices rose but were some way off last week's
19-month highs of $471.75 per ounce, when the recent launch of
exchange-traded funds in the United States fuelled investment
demand.
Palladium <XPD=> climbed to $436 an ounce, versus $430.50
late in New York on Friday.
Spot platinum <XPT=> was bid at $1,547.50 per ounce, against
$1,546.50. It touched $1,654 last week, its highest since August
2008.
Holdings of ETF Securities' U.S.-based platinum
exchange-traded fund <PPLTiv.P> rose 10 percent on Friday, while
those of its U.S. palladium product <PALLiv.P> climbed by a
third, the company said on Monday. []
Among other precious metals, silver <XAG=> prices were at
$17.20 an ounce versus $16.96 an ounce late on Monday.
(Reporting by Michael Taylor; Editing by Amanda Cooper)
