* Gold, silver may be rangebound ahead of Fed meeting
* India shows strong appetite for physical silver
* Coming up: U.S. Fed chief Bernanke briefing; 1815 GMT
(Adds comment, detail; updates prices)
By Rujun Shen
SINGAPORE, April 27 (Reuters) - - Silver rebounded on
Wednesday from sharp falls in the previous session and gold
inched upwards as investors cautiously awaited the conclusion of
the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy meeting while feeble sentiment
in the dollar lent support.
The Fed will probably show no hurry to scale back its
massive support for the economic recovery, but investors are
watching for clues to monetary policy direction from a news
briefing by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke after the meeting.
[]
The dollar could come under further pressure if the central
bank retained its low interest rates and dovish tone, in
contrast to the European Central Bank, which has hiked rates and
looked poised to deliver more to curb inflation.
"The market is a bit mixed ahead of the Fed meeting, which
will influence the move of the dollar and precious metals," said
Peter Fung, head of dealing at Wing Fung Precious Metals based
in Hong Kong.
Gold is likely to trade in the range of $1,500 and $1,510
before making a decisive move, Fung said.
Spot gold gained 0.5 percent to $1,508.59 an ounce by
0559 GMT. It hit a lifetime high of $1,518.10 on Monday. U.S.
gold futures <GCcv1> inched up 0.4 percent to $1,509.10.
Technical analysis suggested that spot gold might head down
towards $1,477, said Reuters market analyst Wang Tao.
[]
SILVER REBOUNDS; PHYSICAL INTEREST REMAINS STRONG
Silver, the superstar commodity of the year, rebounded from
its tumble on Tuesday following Monday's rally to near record
levels, with strong support at the $45 level, dealers said.
Prices of silver have climbed about 49 percent so far this
year, outpacing gold's 6 percent gain.
Spot silver bounced 0.9 percent to $45.88 from a 3
percent dip in the previous session, its biggest one-day loss in
six weeks.
U.S. silver <SIcv1> rose as much as 2.6 percent to $46.22,
before easing to $45.88, up 1.8 percent from the previous close.
Strong physical demand in Asia helped support the sentiment
in silver.
"I haven't seen much demand for gold or silver from India
until recently, probably triggered by rapidly rising prices,"
said a Singapore-based dealer.
MMTC, India's largest bullion importer, plans to double its
silver purchases this fiscal year to 1,500 tonnes, to catch up
with exploding investment interest. []
The strength in silver prices may sustain, as the metal is
expected to benefit from increasing industrial demand in tandem
with recovering global economy. []
Precious metals prices 0559 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Volume
Spot Gold 1508.59 7.39 +0.49 6.28
Spot Silver 45.88 0.39 +0.86 48.67
Spot Platinum 1807.74 11.59 +0.65 2.28
Spot Palladium 750.85 0.52 +0.07 -6.09
TOCOM Gold 3972.00 14.00 +0.35 6.52 34825
TOCOM Platinum 4792.00 7.00 +0.15 2.04 6952
TOCOM Silver 120.10 -0.50 -0.41 48.27 6178
TOCOM Palladium 1987.00 -1.00 -0.05 -5.25 447
COMEX GOLD JUN1 1509.10 5.60 +0.37 6.17 11374
COMEX SILVER MAY1 45.88 0.83 +1.84 48.29 11793
Euro/Dollar 1.4682
Dollar/Yen 81.67
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
COMEX gold and silver contracts show the most active months
(Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Sugita Katyal)
