* Gold may rise to $1,361-tecnicals
* Coming Up: U.S. ISM Manufacturing PMI Jan; 1500 GMT
(Updates prices, adds premiums in Tokyo)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Gold regained strength on
Tuesday, reversing the previous session's losses, and a rise in
ETF holdings for the first time in a week suggested some
investors still had faith in the precious metal despite the
improving tone of U.S. economic data.
Strong oil prices and a deadly unrest in Egypt could
underpin sentiment, but trading slowed down in Asia ahead of the
Lunar New Year celebration later this week. Bullion posted its
first monthly decline in six months in January.
Spot gold added $6.80 to $1,338.70 an ounce by 0710
GMT after falling to as low as 1,322.90 on Monday. Gold struck a
record around $1,430 in December on worries the euro debt crisis
would spread and uncertainty in the U.S. economy.
"It sure is so quiet. If I drop a pin now, I can hear the
echo right away," said a dealer in Singapore.
U.S. April gold futures rose $4.8 to $1,339.3 an
ounce, having settled around $7 lower after data showed factory
activity in the U.S. Midwest hit a 22-1/2 year high in January
and another report showed consumer spending ended 2010 on a
firmer footing.
The euro edged up near a two-month high on Tuesday after a
jump in euro zone inflation fuelled expectations of a rate hike
and as worries about unrest in Egypt abated slightly.
Easing worries about the euro zone sovereign debt crisis and
growing expectations the ECB could hike rates sooner than the
U.S. Federal Reserve have supported the euro in recent
weeks .
Spot gold will develop the second upward leg of a rebound
towards $1,361 per ounce, based on its wave pattern and a
Fibonacci projection analysis, according to Wang Tao, who s a
Reuters market analyst for commodities and energy technicals.
For a 24-hour gold technical outlook: http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/WT/20110102092159.jpg
In the physical market, premiums for gold bars soared in
Tokyo to their highest in more than two years at $2 an ounce as
steady shipments to other bullion trading centres in Asia led to
a tight supply.
"The most importing thing is how far the U.S. has
recovered," said Ronald Leung, director of Lee Cheong Gold
Dealers in Hong Kong.
"People are waiting to see whether this year is a good year
for gold. We have to watch the interest rates. Most nations,
especially in Asia, are trying to fight inflation. They all have
to increase interest rates. This is not really good news for
gold."
China's factory growth slowed a touch in January under the
weight of monetary tightening, but input prices rose quickly,
keeping the pressure on the government to tackle inflation
despite easing growth.
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR
Gold Trust , said its holdings edged up to 1,227.153 tonnes
by Jan. 31 from 1,224.118 tonnes on Jan. 28 -- the first rise
since Jan 21.
However, precious metals-backed exchange-traded funds were
on track for record-breaking outflows in January as a run of
well-received economic data prompted investors to sell gold and
silver in favour of other assets.
Precious metals prices 0710 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover
Spot Gold 1338.70 6.80 +0.51 -5.69
Spot Silver 28.24 0.20 +0.71 -8.49
Spot Platinum 1798.35 6.85 +0.38 1.75
Spot Palladium 820.25 8.28 +1.02 2.60
TOCOM Gold 3534.00 -3.00 -0.08 -5.23 45693
TOCOM Platinum 4787.00 24.00 +0.50 1.94 8572
TOCOM Silver 74.10 0.50 +0.68 -8.52 792
TOCOM Palladium 2169.00 24.00 +1.12 3.43 607
Euro/Dollar 1.3727
Dollar/Yen 81.85
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Himani Sarkar)
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