RTRS:PRECIOUS-Gold snaps two-day decline, Chinese buying supports
* Strong U.S. jobless claims keep prices in check
* SPDR holdings drop another 5.70 tonnes
* Trading volumes in China hit highest in seven weeks
(Adds China volumes, updates prices)
By A. Ananthalakshmi
SINGAPORE, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Gold snapped a two-day decline
on Thursday boosted by demand from Chinese buyers, but gains
were kept in check by strong weekly jobs data in the United
States that stirred fears of an early winding-down of the
Federal Reserve's stimulus.
Investors fear strong economic data could prompt the Fed to
cut back on its $85 billion in monthly bond purchases, which
have added to gold's appeal as a hedge against inflation.
The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment
aid unexpectedly fell last week, data from the Labor Department
showed on Wednesday.
"The gold markets have become more prone to dropping on good
economic data than rising on poor economic data," said Phillip
Futures analyst Joyce Liu.
"In view of the apparent improvement in the economy,
investors are slowly pulling funds out of gold for better
avenues of investment."
Spot gold rose 0.3 percent to $1,240.29 an ounce by
0730 GMT, after dropping 0.5 percent on Wednesday. It fell to
$1,227.34 on Monday, its lowest since early July.
Platinum inched higher after losing more than 1
percent in each of the previous two sessions. Silver and
palladium also ticked up.
Holdings in SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest
gold-backed exchange-traded fund, fell 5.70 tonnes to 843.21
tonnes on Wednesday to their lowest since early 2009.
The fund has seen outflows of more than 450 tonnes this year
as investors put more money into equities as stock markets
rallied. The outflows from ETFs have been a big factor in gold
prices dropping more than 25 percent in 2013.
CHINESE BUYING STRONG
China, which is expected to overtake India as the biggest
consumer of the metal this year, has seen a pick-up in demand
this week due to lower prices.
Traded volumes of 99.99 percent purity gold on the Shanghai
Gold Exchange hit 18.3 tonnes on Thursday, their highest since
Oct. 8, according to Reuters data.
China's net gold imports from Hong Kong climbed to their
second highest on record in October as the country bought more
than 100 tonnes of gold for a sixth straight month to meet
unprecedented demand.
PRICES AT 0730 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
