* Dollar under pressure after U.S. jobless claims
* Expectations for end to QE2 fade after U.S. data
* Gold:silver ratio falls to lowest in 28 years
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By Jan Harvey
LONDON, April 14 (Reuters) - Gold prices climbed back above
$1,460 an ounce on Thursday and silver also rose after U.S. data
showing an unexpected jump in jobless claims last week knocked
the dollar.
The precious metals came under pressure in earlier trade as
speculation that some euro zone countries may be forced into
debt restructuring weighed on the euro, but gold quickly rose
back to session highs after the jobs numbers.
Spot gold <XAU=> was bid at $1,465.20 an ounce at 1355 GMT,
against $1,454.61 late in New York on Wednesday. Silver <XAG=>
was bid at $41.22 an ounce against $40.62, well off this week's
31-year high at $41.93 an ounce.
Analysts are becoming concerned that the grey metal is
becoming overbought at current levels, and may struggle to make
significant headway from here.
"Silver needs to find support at $40 and gold around $1,450
in order to make addtional headway," said Saxo Bank senior
manager Ole Hansen. "(We) still like gold over time, but
increasingly worried about silver."
The dollar extended declines against the yen on Thursday,
falling to a session low, after data showed initial U.S. weekly
jobless claims came in higher than expected. []
The U.S. Labor department said initial state jobless benefit
claims rose to 412,000 in the latest week, from a revised
385,000 the prior week. Markets were expecting claims of
380,000. []
Gold hit record highs above $1,476 an ounce earlier this
week, supported by dollar weakness, unrest in the Middle East
and North Africa, and euro zone debt. But U.S. monetary policy
is expected to be the main driver of gold prices this year.
The dollar hit a 16-month low against a currency basket
early on Thursday after Wednesday's U.S. data did nothing to
change the view the central bank would keep its $600 billion
asset buying programme in place until June.
Some analysts had suggested that if the economy were doing
significantly better and inflation concerns picked up the Fed
could rein in its second round of quantitative easing before it
completes at the end of June. Analysts say this is now unlikely.
DEBATE SUBSIDING
"The debate over an early end to QE2 is finally subsiding,
with the chances of an early end rapidly diminishing," said HSBC
analyst James Steel in a note. "This is supportive of gold."
He said his bank's currency strategists believed "the
complacency in the financial markets as regards U.S. interest
rates suggests that rates are likely to "stay lower for longer".
This is also likely to work against the U.S. dollar."
Crude oil also swung higher, recovering earlier losses, after
the jobelss claims. Prices are at elevated levels due to
continued unrest in the Middle East and a sharp fall in U.S.
gasoline stocks. []
Holdings of the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded
fund, New York's SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, fell another 3.3 tonnes
on Wednesday, reflecting softer investor interest in the funds.
[]
The amount of bullion the trust holds to back its securities
has fallen 67.8 tonnes so far this year, against a rise of 7.4
tonnes in the same period of 2010.
Holdings of the largest silver ETF, the iShares Silver Trust
<SLV.P>, slipped to 10,969.71 tonnes on Wednesday from 11,212.53
tonnes a day before. []
Platinum <XPT=> was at $1,772.99 an ounce against $1,769.15,
while palladium <XPD=> was at $761.97 against $760.63.
(Reporting by Jan Harvey; editing by William Hardy)
