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Gold extends losses on eurozone debt hopes

Singapore, September 15, 2011

Gold slipped more than half a percent on Thursday after equities rose and the euro ticked up on optimism over tentative steps by European policy makers to resolve and limit the region's debt crisis.       

Gold's failure to revisit recent highs also prompted investors to trim positions and turn their attention to a series of economic data from the United States ahead of next week's meeting of the Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) on interest rates.     

Spot gold fell $4.45 to $1,815.65 an ounce by 0311 GMT, having fallen 0.7 percent in the previous session. Bullion, which has risen around 27 percent this year, was well below a lifetime high around $1,920 an ounce struck last week.     

'We've seen in the last few days that gold has struggled to make any headway,' said Darren Heathcote, head of Investec Australia in Sydney. 'That is a sign of the market really waiting for something more substantial, either coming out of Europe or the United States.'     

US gold futures fell $6.4 to $1,820.10 an ounce. The euro held on to gains against the dollar in another choppy session on Thursday as stock markets firmed and investors bought back shares after France and Germany said Greece's place remains in the euro zone.       

But sentiments remained volatile as documents revealed that European finance ministers have been warned confidentially of the danger of a renewed credit crunch as a 'systemic' crisis in euro zone sovereign debt spills over to banks.      

The uncertainties about global economic growth have driven gold prices to scale record highs since July, and are still expected to underpin sentiment for the metal until investors are convinced the danger of recession is past.

World Bank President Robert Zoellick said on Wednesday the world had entered a new economic danger zone and Europe, Japan and the United States all needed to make hard decisions to avoid dragging down the global economy.      

'I would say we'll be watching the US CPI figures ahead of the FOMC meeting next week. If we do see an acceleration in inflation, then I think additional Fed action or looser monetary policy will be more difficult to justify,' said a dealer in Singapore.     

'I think gold will trade sideways this week. I am looking for support at $1,800. Gold is becoming a different creature because of the volatility. We never saw gold trading so volatile until prices rallied above $1,900.'      

The Federal Reserve, facing rising global financial strains and recession fears, is poised to increase downward pressure on longer-term interest rates next week in a bid to speed up a sputtering US recovery.      

Labor Department releases the August Consumer Price  Index at 1230 GMT, with economists in a Reuters survey expecting a 0.2 percent rise compared with a 0.5 percent rise in July. Excluding volatile food and energy items, CPI is seen up 0.2 percent, a repeat of the July figure.      

In the energy market, US crude slipped as rising fuel inventories and falling demand in top consumer the United States reinforced views that slowing global economic growth is denting energy use.   – Reuters




Tags: Gold | debt | Silver | fuel | rise | loss | Comex |

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