RTRS:PRECIOUS-Gold inches down after EU deal spurs risk rally
* Silver headed for sharpest weekly rise in over 3 years
* Spot gold may rise to $1,762-$1,773 - technicals
* Coming up: U.S. consumer sentiment, Oct; 1355 GMT
(Adds comments, details; updates prices)
By Rujun Shen
SINGAPORE, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Spot gold edged lower on
Friday, still on course for its biggest weekly rise in two
months after the euro zone's last-minute deal on containing debt
crisis buoyed commodities and equities.
Gold rose on Thursday with global stocks and other
commodities, after a European Union summit agreed on a
50-percent haircut on Greek bonds, bank recapitalisation and
leveraging of the bloc's rescue fund.
The lack of details in the deal and challenges lying ahead
in execution of the plan will likely keep investors on edge.
"There are a lot of potential land mines in the near term,"
said Jeremy Friesen, commodity strategist at Societe Generale in
Hong Kong, "This is not an obviously risk-on environment and
we're going to see risk-on, risk-off for the rest of the year."
Spot gold retreated from a one-month high of
$1,751.99, falling to to $1,736.44 an ounce by 0701 GMT, down
0.4 percent from the previous close
The metal remains on course for a 5.9-percent gain from a
week earlier, the biggest one-week rise in two months.
U.S. gold GCcv1 lost half a percent to $1,738.80, also
headed for its sharpest one-week gain in two months with a 6.3
percent rise.
Technical analysis suggested that spot gold could rise into
a resistance range of $1,762 and $1,773 during the day, before
starting a deep correction, Reuters market analyst Wang Tao
said.
The dollar index edged up after suffering its biggest
one-day loss in more than two years, as the euro rally paused. A
stronger dollar makes commodities priced in the greenback more
expensive for holders of other currencies.
The relief on Europe's problems, however temporary, will
allow investors to shift their attention to other pressing
concerns.
"Focus will shift to U.S. economy after recent data painted
a mixed picture," said Hou Xinqiang, an analyst at Jinrui
Futures in China.
"Investors will also pay attention to if China would loosen
up its monetary policy, which would be bullish for commodities."
Many market watchers expect China's central bank to begin to
loosen up its tight liquidity policy by the end of the year, as
China's economic growth slows and hopes run high that inflation
has peaked.
Holdings of the SPDR Gold Trust , the world's biggest
gold-backed exchange-traded fund, edged down 0.6 tonnes from a
day earlier to 1,243.551 tonnes by Oct. 27, but still up 16
tonnes from a week earlier.
Recent data out of the United States showed that the world's
biggest economy grew at its fastest pace in a year in the third
quarter but consumer confidence in October dropped to a
2-1/2-year low.
With the world's biggest economy seeming to have stepped
back from the edge of the cliff, investors expect little policy
shift out of the Federal Reserve's policy meeting on Nov. 1-2.
"In the near term, the market will focus on how central
banks across the board are going to shift from neutral or
tightening to accommodative or aggressively accommodative
policy," said Friesen of Societe Generale.
"Gold should slowly drift higher. If we get some significant
policy decisions, like an announcement of QE3, it will give a
jolt to the upside."
Spot silver gained 0.6 percent to $35.26, on course
for a 12.6-percent weekly rise -- its biggest in more than three
years. The gold-silver ratio, used to measure how many ounces of
silver is needed to buy an ounce of gold, fell to a one-month
low below 50.
Precious metals prices 0701 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Volume
Spot Gold 1736.44 -7.51 -0.43 22.33
Spot Silver 35.26 0.21 +0.60 14.26
Spot Platinum 1640.00 9.30 +0.57 -7.21
Spot Palladium 662.00 -0.65 -0.10 -17.20
TOCOM Gold 4247.00 38.00 +0.90 13.89 80058
TOCOM Platinum 4034.00 114.00 +2.91 -14.10 26275
TOCOM Silver 85.80 4.80 +5.93 5.93 764
TOCOM Palladium 1642.00 56.00 +3.53 -21.70 604
COMEX GOLD DEC1 1738.80 -8.90 -0.51 22.33 20153
COMEX SILVER DEC1 35.27 0.16 +0.45 13.99 3841
Euro/Dollar 1.4171
Dollar/Yen 75.85
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
COMEX gold and silver contracts show the most active months