* Gold headed for the 4th consecutive week of loss

 * Gold to fall to $1,290-technicals 

 By Rujun Shen	

 SINGAPORE, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Spot gold fell to a four-month
low on Friday, as an improved economic outlook in the U.S. and
Europe continued to depress safe-haven demand, but physical
buying is expected to lend some support.	

 U.S. housing and factory data on Thursday showed the economy
still gaining strength in December but at a pace unlikely to
cause the Federal Reserve to rethink its stimulus program.
 	

 The gross domestic product data due later today is expected
to show the world's biggest economy picking up speed but short
of the pace needed to bring down unemployment. 	

 Spot gold fell to a low of $1,308 an ounce, and was
trading at $1,312.16 at 0350 GMT. 	
Gold is on course for a fourth straight week of declines,
its longest losing streak in a year. It was headed for a 7.4
percent monthly fall, it biggest since October 2008.	
 U.S. gold fell about half a percent to $1,311.9.	
 "It does seem sentiment has been shaken and technical charts
aren't looking fantastic," said Yingxi Yu, an analyst at
Barclays Capital.	
 "We remain optimistic on gold prospects for the next few
months, but the near-term correction could continue for quite
some time. We've seen some speculative positions in gold being
liquidated in the past few days, as well as some outflow from
the ETF."	
 Holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust , the world's largest
gold-backed exchange-traded fund, fell to an eight-month low of
1,226.546 tonnes by Jan. 27, after a record daily outflow of
31.262 tonnes on Jan. 25. 	
 Spot gold is expected to fall more to $1,290 per
ounce, as a downtrend is intact and bearish momentum strong,


said Reuters market analyst Wang Tao.	
 The Relatively Strength Indicator on spot gold hovered
around 30, a threshold below which is seen as oversold
territory. The RSI on gold had been above 30 since September
2008.	
 A buying spree in China and Hong Kong before the Lunar New
Year has slowed down as the holiday looms next week, but some
buyers were still buying betting on future price gains.	
 "There's a lot of physical buying from Thailand, Indonesia,
China and Hong Kong, for delivery after the Lunar New Year,"
said a Singapore-based dealer.	
 "Gold should be able to hold the $1,300 level for now.
Physical demand is still there. People are bullish for the long
term, and they will take the opportunity to enter the market."	
 Inflation pressure has been rising in emerging economies,
and now is spreading to developed countries. South Korea's
government said the inflation situation is continuing to
deteriorate due to rising farm products prices and other
factors. 	
 After India raised interest rates earlier this week, for the
seventh time since March, market players are also eyeing further


possible tightening from Beijing.	

 

 SINGAPORE, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Spot gold held near a
four-month low on Friday, after falling by more than two percent
in the previous session, as economic data from the United States
and Europe pointed to steady growth, which depresses safe-haven
demand from investors.	

 FUNDAMENTALS	

 * Spot gold was little changed at $1,313.25 an ounce
by 0041 GMT, after falling to $1,308.70 in the previous session,
its lowest in nearly four months.	

 * U.S. gold futures fell 0.4 percent at $1,313.	

 * U.S. housing and factory data on Thursday showed the
economy still gaining strength in December but at a pace
unlikely to cause the Federal Reserve to rethink its stimulus
program. 	

 * Euro zone economic sentiment was broadly flat in January,
pointing to a good start to 2011, but inflation expectations
jumped among companies and households, adding to European Central Bank policy headaches. 	

 * Holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust , the world's largest
gold-backed exchange-traded fund, fell about three tonnes to its
eight-month low of 1,226.546 tonnes. 	

 MARKET NEWS	

 * Strong corporate earnings led Wall Street to a 29-month
closing high for a second day on Thursday, but another run of
big gains may be harder to achieve. 	

 * The yen nursed broad losses on Friday after Standard &
Poor's cut Japan's credit rating by a notch, though it fared
relatively better against the U.S. dollar which had troubles of
its own. 


 

LONDON, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Spot gold prices held steady on
Thursday on slowing physical and fund demand, though cautious
economic views on the economy offered by the U.S. Federal
Reserve lent support.

 PRICES
  * Spot gold XAU= was bid at $1,342.9 at 0745 GMT from $1,346.3 late in New York on Wednesday.

 * Silver XAG= was at $27.48 from $27.49.
 MARKET NEWS
 * The dollar index .DXY =USD fell to an 11-week low
after the Federal Reserve showed it was in no rush to scale back
its easy policy the previous day. 
 * Brent crude hovered at below $98 after better than
expected U.S. home sales data and the Federal Reserve's pledge
to keep monetary policy steady drummed up market sentiment.
 * The S&P 500 closed at a 29-month high on Wednesday led by
gains in tech and commodity  shares, as investors largely
ignored the U.S. Federal Reserve's lukewarm economic assessment.
 * European shares were set rise, tracking gains on Wall
Street and in Asian markets after the Fed's pledge helped cement
hopes that monetary policy will remain loose for the time being.
 
 FUNDAMENTALS
  * Holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD), the world's
largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, remained unchanged at
its eight-month low of 1,229.581 tonnes, after its biggest
one-day drop in the previous session.
 * Gold-backed exchange traded funds bought 20 percent more
bullion in 2010, boosting their holdings by 361 tonnes to a
record high 2,167 tonnes, the World Gold Council said.
 * Option investors expect gold futures to rebound, reversing
a recent trend in which buyers increased protection against a
price decline. 
 * U.S. new home sales in December rose faster than expected
to their highest level in eight months and prices were the highest since April 2008. 
TECHNICALS
 * Gold support at $1,280 an ounce, resistance at $1,400 an ounce and 14-day RSI at 39.070.
 * Silver support at $26.40 an ounce, resistance at $28 and 14-day RSI at 41.4. 


 

 

 

SINGAPORE, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Spot gold held steady on
Thursday, after snapping a four-day losing streak in the
previous session, as a cautious outlook by the U.S. Federal
Reserve and a weaker dollar lent support.	

 FUNDAMENTALS	

 * Spot gold inched down 0.2 percent at $1,344.39 an
ounce by 0031 GMT.	

 * U.S. gold futures gained 0.8 percent at $1,343.8.	

 * The Federal Reserve showed on Wednesday that it was in no
rush to cut short its efforts to rescue the U.S. economy, saying
high unemployment still justified its $600 billion bond-buying
plan. 	

 * U.S. new home sales in December rose faster than expected
to their highest level in eight months and prices were the
highest since April 2008, raising cautious optimism for a
housing market recovery. 	

 * The dollar index held near its lowest level since 

 * China's annual economic growth is expected to ease to
about nine percent in the first quarter while consumer inflation
is projected at five percent, according to a government think
tank report published in the official Chinese Securities
Journal. 	

 * Option investors expect gold futures to rebound, reversing
a recent trend in which buyers increased protection against a
price decline. 	

 MARKET NEWS	

 * The S&P 500 closed at a 29-month high on Wednesday led by
gains in tech and commodity  shares, as investors largely 

SINGAPORE, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Spot gold held steady on
Wednesday, while the SPDR Gold Trust staged its biggest one-day
fall ever, showing a decline in interest from investors as the
latest U.S. data underscored an improved economic outlook.	

 FUNDAMENTALS	

 * Spot gold was little changed at $1,333.90 an ounce
by 0033 GMT, off the three-month low at $1,322.70 hit on
Tuesday.	

 * U.S. gold futures was also little changed at
$1,333.3.	

 * SPDR Gold Trust , the world's largest gold-backed
exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell 31.262 tonnes, the
biggest one-day fall ever, to an eight-month low of 1,229.581
tonnes by Jan 25. 	

 * U.S. consumer confidence rose in January to its highest
level in eight months, underscoring the brightening economic
outlook, although declining housing prices still cast a cloud on
the recovery. 	

 * U.S. President Obama is scheduled to make his State of the
Union speech at 0200 GMT. Comments on U.S. government spending
plans may move the commodities markets. 	

 * Gold prices are expected to average $1,450 an ounce in
2011, building on stellar gains from last year, boosted by low
interest rates, dollar weakness and lingering worry over growth
in major economies, a Reuters poll showed. 	

 * Europe needs to strengthen its financial rescue fund to
reduce the risk of renewed global instability as U.S. tax cuts
and buoyant emerging economies help propel the recovery
elsewhere, the IMF said on Tuesday. 	
 MARKET NEWS	
 * U.S. stocks erased losses in a late flurry of buying to
end little changed on Tuesday as overall optimism about earnings
offset disappointing results from blue chips 3M and Johnson &
Johnson. 	
 * The euro climbed to a two-month high above $1.37 on
Tuesday and looked poised to extend gains as momentum turned
increasingly bullish after the currency's recent break above key
chart levels.