* Expectation of loose monetary policy underpins gold
* Gold could rise to $1,450 - technicals
* Coming up: U.S. unemployment claims, weekly; 1230 GMT
(Updates prices)
By Rujun Shen
SINGAPORE, March 24 (Reuters) - Gold prices held steady on
Thursday as it drew support from the spreading turmoil in the
Middle East and talk of extended loose U.S. monetary policy
after lackluster home sales data.
Continued fighting in Libya, where western forces have
failed to dislodge Muammar Gaddafi's armour, calls for the
ouster of Yemen's president and Palestinian rocket strikes on
Israel have heightened geopolitical risks in the
region.
"Gold is expected to remain firm, as there is a lot of
geopolitical uncertainty and money printing going on," said a
Singapore-based trader, referring to the looser monetary policy
adopted by Japan's central bank after the nation was convulsed
by a devastating earthquake nearly two weeks ago.
"But there is strong resistance at $1,440/$1,445 level, so
we'd need a good headline to break through," he added.
Spot gold was nearly flat at $1,436.55 an ounce by
0703 GMT, while U.S. gold was little changed at $1,436.80
an ounce.
Wednesday saw spot gold rising to $1,440.90, within a
whisker of an all-time high of $1,444.40, as Portugal rekindled
euro zone debt worries and record low U.S. new home sales fanned
speculation that the Federal Reserve might extend its $600
billion bond purchase programme.
Concerns that the economy would be flooded by
cheap money add to gold's allure as an inflation
hedge.
In Portugal, Prime Minister Jose Socrates resigned on
Wednesday and warned of grave consequences for the country after
parliament rejected his government's latest austerity measures
aimed at avoiding a bailout.
The resignation was seen as increasing the likelihood that
Portugal will join Greece and Ireland in requiring a bailout
from the European Union, putting the euro under pressure. The
dollar strengthened by 0.3 percent against a basket of
currencies.
"The impact on markets from euro zone's debt crisis has been
diminishing, as investors have confidence in the bloc's leaders'
ability to handle the problem, based on experience over the past
year," said Hou Xinqiang, an analyst at Jinrui Futures.
Technical analysis showed that spot gold may gain further to
$1,450 per ounce, according to Reuters market analyst Wang Tao.
Gold miners were upbeat on prices of bullion going forward,
with Minera Andes Inc and US Gold Corp
forecasting $5,000 gold price in three to four years.
Spot silver inched down 0.4 percent to $37.21 an
ounce, after touching a 31-year high of $37.40 on Wednesday.
Precious metals prices 0703 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Volume
Spot Gold 1436.55 0.35 +0.02 1.20
Spot Silver 37.21 -0.15 -0.40 20.58
Spot Platinum 1750.74 -1.07 -0.06 -0.95
Spot Palladium 745.47 -0.22 -0.03 -6.76
TOCOM Gold 3753.00 31.00 +0.83 0.64 35333
TOCOM Platinum 4590.00 46.00 +1.01 -2.26 10466
TOCOM Silver 97.20 3.20 +3.40 20.00 1761
TOCOM Palladium 1948.00 21.00 +1.09 -7.11 221
COMEX GOLD APR1 1436.80 -1.20 -0.08 1.08 8863
COMEX SILVER MAY1 37.25 0.05 +0.14 20.39 3235
Euro/Dollar 1.4071
Dollar/Yen 80.93
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
COMEX gold and silver contracts show the most active months
(Editing by Himani Sarkar)
Reuters
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