* Gold to rise to $1,403/oz -technicals [ID:nL3E6N302S]
* Coming Up: U.S. non-farm payrolls Nov; 1330 GMT
(Updates prices, adds GFMS forecast)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Gold gained on Friday to hold
near its strongest in almost three weeks as bargain hunting
helped the metal defy a rebound in the euro, waning Europe
debt concerns and upbeat U.S. data.
The European Central Bank resisted pressure on Thursday to
commit to a major bond-buying programme to contain the euro
zone debt crisis, but traders said the ECB had been quietly
buying bonds anyway. [ID:nLDE6B10I4]
Spot gold rose $5.50 an ounce to $1,390.25 by 0447
GMT. It had jumped to its highest since Nov 12 around $1,398
on Thursday before falling back. Bullion was below a lifetime
high around $1,424 struck in early November.
"We can say there are some bargain hunters at the lower
end. There's not too much liquidity in the market and a little
bit of buying moves up gold," said Ronald Leung, director of
Lee Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong.
"I don't see many jewellery makers around these days. The
price is too high. It's towards the year-end and most of the
orders have already been filled," said Leung, adding that gold
could find resistance around $1,400.
U.S. gold futures for February added $2.2 to
$1,391.5 an ounce.
Silver tracked gold higher, while palladium
slipped after rallying to its highest since early 2001 on
Thursday, but firmer equities and physical buying helped
cushion the fall. Platinum barely changed.
Metals consultancy GFMS forecasts silver prices to
average around $30 an ounce in 2011, peaking at $35, while
gold would peak at around $1,600 to $1,650 an ounce, and
average $1,400. It expects global platinum market to see a
surplus of about 25 tonnes in 2010, which will continue to
pressure prices. [ID:nL3E6N309D] [ID:nL3E6N308O]
Spot gold will rise to a projected target at $1,403
per ounce as the current upward wave "c" has not completed. A
Fibonacci projection points to $1,403, the 100 percent level,
which may exert a strong resistance to prevent a further
rebound, according to Wang Tao, who is a Reuters market
analyst for commodities and energy technicals.
For a 24-hour gold technical outlook:
here
The euro's rebound from a 2-1/2-month low stalled on
Friday, though it retained most gains made after talk of
European Central Bank buying of euro zone periphery debt
helped knocked down those yields.
Invetors awaited the release of U.S. payrolls data later
in the day, with surprisingly strong U.S. housing numbers
adding to budding optimism on the U.S. economy and sending
equities markets higher.
"Demand for silver from the industrial sector is slowing
down, but there's a steady interest in palladium," said a
dealer in Tokyo. "Platinum price is just too high. There's no
interest."
Platinum and palladium often track equities because of
their industrial demand, mostly in auto catalysts.
Japan's Nikkei share average hit a six-month high
on Friday after a stream of positive U.S. retail and housing
data raised hopes for a swift recovery in the world's biggest
economy.
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the
SPDR Gold Trust , said its holdings rose to 1,298.447
tonnes by Dec 2 from 1,293.891 tonnes on Dec 1. The holdings
hit a record at 1,320.436 tonnes on June 29.
The world's largest silver-backed exchange-traded fund,
Shares Silver Trust , said its holdings slipped to
10,778.68 tonnes by Dec 2 from 10,782.69 tonnes on Dec 1. The
holdings jumped to an all-time high of 10,893.68 tonnes on
Nov 23. [ID:nL3E6N201A]
