* Trade thin ahead of year-end
* Coming Up: U.S. Initial Claims Weekly; 1330 GMT
(Updates prices)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Gold ticked up on Thursday
and was likely to trade in a tight range as year-end
approaches, but dealers still expected some buying related to
credit rating warnings in Europe.
The U.S. Labor Department's weekly jobless claims report
and the Commerce Department's November new home sales data
might offer some direction, although better-than-expected
numbers could bode well for the dollar and weigh on bullion.
Spot gold rose $2.36 an ounce to $1,386.91 an ounce
by 0706 GMT. Gold was well below a historical high of around
$1,430 hit earlier this month.
"I think gold is likely to be range bound, and it will be
pretty difficult for gold to actually master sufficient
momentum to move above the $1,400 level," said Ong Yi Ling,
investment analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore.
"I would think to year-end, my resistance for gold will be
$1,410. That would be the level I am looking at to cap the
upside for gold," said Ong.
U.S. gold futures for February were steady at
$1,387.9 an ounce.
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund,
SPDR Gold Trust , said its holdings dropped to 1,288.616
tonnes by Dec. 22 from 1,298.029 tonnes on Dec. 21.
The euro won some reprieve on Thursday after plumbing a
record low versus the Swiss franc overnight, but the
currency's outlook was shaky at best and more losses into 2011
are seen likely as the euro zone debt crisis looked set to
drag on.
Five major Greek banks were put on notice on Wednesday
that their credit ratings could be cut to junk, Fitch Ratings
said, a day after it put the country's sovereign ratings on
the same watch. []
Bullion was riding on fears the debt crisis in Europe
would spread, with tensions in the Korean peninsula offering
additional support.
North Korea on Thursday criticised major land and sea
military exercises planned by the South, but stopped short of
threatening a retaliatory strike as tension remained high on
the peninsula. []
In a show of military might, South Korea held a major land
drill in the Pocheon region, between Seoul and the heavily
armed demilitarised zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas. It
also continued naval live-fire exercises 100 km (60 miles)
south of the maritime border with North Korea.
The physical market saw some bargain hunting but most
jewellers were already away on holiday. Premiums for gold bars
were steady at 70 cents to the spot London prices in Singapore.
"We've done small business but other than that, it's very
quiet. Most consumers are off," said a dealer in Singapore.
In other markets, resources-linked stocks rose and oil
climbed towards the $91 per dollar mark after latest U.S. data
offered yet another sign that the world's biggest economy is
on the mend.
In main consumer India, gold demand was moderate on
Wednesday as prices softened on a stronger rupee, but traders
said the underlying appetite remained strong and many buyers
kept to the sidelines waiting for bigger dips as the year-end
drew closer.
India's busy season for gold purchases is at its very end
with the Hindu wedding days gradually abating after festivals
ended last month.
Precious metals prices at 0706 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover
Spot Gold 1386.91 2.36 +0.17 26.58
Spot Silver 29.29 0.09 +0.31 74.03
Spot Platinum 1725.24 3.74 +0.22 17.60
Spot Palladium 750.72 2.47 +0.33 85.13
Euro/Dollar 1.3132
Dollar/Yen 83.06
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Himani Sarkar)
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