* Gold up on bargain hunting; off 2-week high
* Technical mixed, biased to rise to $1,360 []
* Coming Up: Two-day FOMC meeting starts <USFOMC=ECI>
(Updates prices)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Gold ticked up on Tuesday
after a drop from a two-week high spurred bargain hunting, but
investors were reluctant to make big bets ahead of the U.S.
Federal Reserve's policy meeting, which could determine the
fate of the dollar.
The Fed is expected to commit to buying between $250 billion
and $2 trillion in Treasury debt over coming months to spur a
flagging economy when it announces a second round of monetary
easing on Wednesday. [] []
Gold <XAU=> added $5.75 to $1,356.00 an ounce by 0537 GMT
in slow trade. It had hit a two-week high at $1,365.49 in Asia
on Monday, but then suffered from a lack of follow-through
buying.
Gold struck a record around $1,387 last month.
For a graphic showing the 24-hour gold technical outlook:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/WT/20100211090728.jpg
"People are bit more cautious in buying. We don't know what
the U.S. is doing out there and we've got the election
tonight," said Ronald Leung, director of Lee Cheong Gold
Dealers in Hong Kong.
"There will be short covering and then we'll wait for the
outcome tomorrow night," said Leung, referring to the Fed
meeting.
U.S. gold futures for December delivery <GCZ0> rose $5.6 an
ounce to $1,356.2 after rising as high as 1,366.40 on Monday,
its strongest since Oct. 19. []
Silver <XAG=> was steady but off a 30-year peak hit on
Monday, while palladium <XPD=> slipped from a 9-year high.
Platinum <XPT=> was off a four-week high seen on Monday.
The dollar kept a tenuous grip on overnight gains on
Tuesday, buoyed by surprisingly strong U.S. manufacturing data
but the upside is seen limited ahead of the Fed policy meeting.
[]
The U.S. congressional election is due on Tuesday, but
analysts said the outcome is unlikely to have any immediate
impact on currencies.
Americans unhappy with the U.S. economy are poised to hand
control of the U.S. House of Representatives to Republicans in
the elections that are shaping up as a rebuke of President
Barack Obama, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found on Monday.
[]
The physical sector in Hong Kong and Singapore slowed to a
trickle before the Fed meeting, but top consumer India could
make last-minute purchases before the Diwali festival of lights
later this week.
"There's no buying interest ahead of the Fed meeting, but
we did see light sales of scraps yesterday," said a physical
dealer in Singapore.
India's gold imports in October rose to 43 tonnes
provisionally, above a Reuters poll forecast of 41.5 tonnes, as
a good monsoon and investment appeal drew consumers to the
metal despite high prices, the president of the Bombay Bullion
Association said. []
Precious metals prices at 0537 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 1356.00 5.75 +0.43 23.76
Spot Silver 24.74 0.14 +0.57 47.00
Spot Platinum 1710.99 4.99 +0.29 16.63
Spot Palladium 650.75 1.75 +0.27 60.48
TOCOM Gold 3522.00 -13.00 -0.37 8.07
35508
TOCOM Platinum 4479.00 12.00 +0.27 2.24
11816
TOCOM Silver 64.10 -0.40 -0.62 23.98
581
TOCOM Palladium 1688.00 8.00 +0.48 44.89
807
Euro/Dollar 1.3930
Dollar/Yen 80.55
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Himani Sarkar)
