* Trade thin ahead of holidays
* Gold to fall to $1,339 -technicals []
* Coming up: U.S. leading indicators for November; 1500 GMT
(Adds details, comments; updates prices)
By Rujun Shen
SINGAPORE, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Gold prices edged higher
in thin pre-holiday trade on Friday, supported by
bargain-hunters in Asia and a weaker dollar, with
uncertainties in Europe's fiscal health expected to continue
buoying interest in precious metals.
The U.S. economy showed new signs the recovery was gaining
traction, with data on Thursday showing that new claims for
jobless aid fell last week and factory activity in the
Mid-Atlantic region grew at its quickest pace in more than
5-1/2 years this month. []
The dollar lost nearly half a percent against a basket of
currencies after oversold U.S. Treasuries gained a bit of
ground, while the euro showed some resilience after bouncing
off trading-range support.
Trading interest remained thin, as holidays loom.
"There is some bargain-hunting in relatively thin trade.
The holiday is coming, and the liquidity will remain thin. So
a small amount of buying will trigger a few dollars' move. I
won't read too much into the move," said a Hong Kong-based
trader.
Spot gold gained 0.4 percent to $1,375.99 an ounce
by 0317 GMT, bouncing from the three-week low of $1,361.35 hit
in the previous session. The metal was bound for a second
straight week of losses.
U.S. gold futures also rose by 0.4 percent to
$1,377.1.
The technical signals for spot gold show it is
expected to fall to $1,339 per ounce next week, based on a
Fibonacci retracement analysis, said Wang Tao, a Reuters
market analyst. []
For a weekly gold technical outlook:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/WT/20101712084028.jpg
CME Group has hiked trading margins in U.S. silver
for the second time in a month, as well as in palladium, amid
a price rally in these metals, but the market has so far
shrugged off the move.
"I think those headlines are getting a bit old, people are
too lazy to trade them," said a Singapore-based trader, "Funds
have already unloaded longs after the first few headlines."
The non-commercial long positions on U.S. Silver eased to
32,969 by Dec 7 from 34,034 a week earlier, data published by
the Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed. []
Spot silver rose 1.4 percent to $29.26, after
declining to a one-week low of $28.32. The metal, which has
gained 74 percent so far this year, is on course for a weekly
rise of 2.4 percent.
"Ultimately it still depends on the overall market
backdrop," said Yingxi Yu, an analyst at Barclays Capital. "We
still see the macro environment as pretty supportive for
investment interest in precious metals, especially in gold."
The combination of concerns on how Europe's sovereign debt
crisis would evolve, and inflation worries down the road, is
expected to continue to support gold prices, Yu added.
European Union leaders have agreed to create a permanent
financial safety net from 2013 and the European Central Bank
moved to increase its firepower to fight the debt crisis that
has rocked the euro zone. []
But European policymakers still appear divided over more
concrete measures. []
Holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest
gold-backed exchange-traded fund, fell to a two-month low of
1,283.757 tonnes by Dec 16.
Precious metals prices at 0317 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 1375.99 5.53 +0.40 25.58
Spot Silver 29.26 0.39 +1.35 73.86
Spot Platinum 1699.24 4.75 +0.28 15.83
Spot Palladium 742.47 5.97 +0.81 83.10
TOCOM Gold 3721.00 -36.00 -0.96 14.18 45279
TOCOM Platinum 4636.00 -4.00 -0.09 5.82 7749
TOCOM Silver 79.00 0.00 +0.00 52.80 1657
TOCOM Palladium 2025.00 -16.00 -0.78 73.82 385
Euro/Dollar 1.3286
Dollar/Yen 83.85
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Reporting By Rujun Shen; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
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