RTRS:PRECIOUS-Gold eases on firmer U.S. dollar; physicals support
* Dollar index hits two-week high
* Asia physical gold buying continues, momentum slows
* Spot gold may rebound to $1,728/oz, technicals show
* Coming up: U.S. factory orders, Jan; 1500 GMT
(Updates prices)
By Rujun Shen
SINGAPORE, March 5 (Reuters) - Gold edged lower on Monday, pressured
by a firmer dollar although it was regaining its footing after last week's
biggest weekly loss in more than two months, supported by demand from jewellery
makers in Asia that is helping to cushion the fall.
Spot gold lost nearly 4 percent last week, after U.S. Federal Reserve
Chairman Ben Bernanke disappointed the market by making no reference to further
monetary easing in congressional testimony.
Prices have since rebounded modestly and found solid support at the $1,700
level, with investors still confident in gold's appeal as real interest rates
remain low and inflation looms as a longer-term concern.
"There isn't much room on the downside for gold, because the sharp fall last
week was an over-reaction to an unfulfilled expectation," said Hou Xinqiang, an
analyst at Jinrui Futures in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen.
But Hou said gold's short-term technical outlook might have weakened after
several recent attempts to reach key resistance at $1,800 failed.
"We are likely to see gold seesaw in the $1,700 to $1,800 range in the short
term, as investors await a new stimulus," Hou added.
Spot gold was down $2.61 an ounce at $1,709.16 at 0800 GMT after
rising as high as about $1,716 an ounce. U.S. gold was steady at
$1,710.50.
Technical signals suggested gold could rebound to $1,728 an ounce during the
day, said Reuters market analyst Wang Tao.
Strength in the U.S. dollar weighed on sentiment in dollar-priced
commodities, after a second injection of cheap three-year funds by the European
Central Bank last week and a surprise policy easing by the Bank of Japan a few
weeks ago pressured the euro and the yen.
Economists believe that the ECB will keep interest rates at 1.0 percent
until deep into 2013 on concerns over high oil prices and the impact of the huge
cash boost.
Asian jewellers and other buyers of physical gold were still expected to be
interested in buying gold at current price levels, which are down sharply from
three-month highs around $1,790 hit last week before the sell-off, although the
pace of purchasing has slowed from last week's buying frenzy when prices fell
below $1,700.
"The $1,710 level is still attractive for physical buyers," said a
Singapore-based dealer. "Thailand is still buying and Indonesia may come in
later as well."
Money managers, including hedge funds and other large speculators, raised
their bullish bets in U.S. gold futures and options to the highest level in five
months in the week of Feb. 28, prior to the sharp correction in prices.
