* Physical buyers cheered by steadier investment interest
* Stronger dollar versus the euro caps gains in gold
* Investors eye Chinese inflation data due Tuesday
(Updates throughout, changes dateline from SINGAPORE)
By Jan Harvey
LONDON, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Gold was held below $1,360 an
ounce in Europe on Monday as the stronger dollar put a lid on
last week's gains, though a second consecutive weekly price rise
has underpinned investors' confidence in the precious metal.
Spot gold <XAU=> was bid at $1,356.70 an ounce at 1037 GMT,
against $1,356.12 late in New York on Friday. U.S. gold futures
for April delivery <GCJ1> fell $3.40 an ounce to $1,357.00.
Prices remain caught between support near $1,320 an ounce
and resistance towards $1,370 as investors wait to see whether
the firmer appetite for risk that boosted higher yielding assets
at gold's expense at the start of the year will be sustained.
"With gold between $1,320-1,360, we are still seeing pretty
good physical demand, and that is supporting gold," said
Standard Bank analyst Walter de Wet.
"From a technical perspective, the 100-day moving average is
just above $1,360, and that is providing resistance. It is going
to be pretty difficult for gold to break above that level, given
what we have with the physical market and technical resistance."
"(But) ultimately, we still think gold is going to break
higher, and target $1,500 towards the third quarter."
Investors' confidence in the longer-term strength of gold
prices was demonstrated last week by a report showing investors
were beginning to build up their exposure to U.S. gold futures.
The net non-commercial position in COMEX gold futures posted
its first weekly rise since early January and the largest weekly
rise since early April 2010, the Commodity Futures Trading
Commission said in its weekly Commitments of Traders report.
A stronger dollar is limiting gains in gold, however. Dollar
strength curbs the metal's appeal as an alternative asset.
The euro hit a three-week low against the unit on reports
that Germany's financial watchdog has become involved in a
rescue of ailing lender WestLB. []
Traders are awaiting a raft of data, including Chinese
inflation numbers and a euro zone growth report due on Tuesday,
to give fresh direction to the market.
"China's CPI reading for January will be released tomorrow
and market chatter currently suggests it will be lower than
expected," said UBS in a note.
"Should CPI disappoint, this could act as a catalyst for
gold to trend lower in the short term."
INVESTMENT STILL SOFT
Gold buying in India, the world's biggest consumer of the
metal, was lacklustre for a third day on Monday as dealers
awaited further price falls. []
Demand for gold-backed exchange-traded funds also remained
soft, with holdings of the world's largest, New York's SPDR Gold
Trust <GLD>, falling by 55 tonnes so far this year. []
"Private investors, not only in the U.S. but also in Asia
and Europe, clearly have a different point of view on the actual
global economic and financial situation than institutional
market participants," said precious metals house Heraeus.
"They are still very much on the buying side, be it due to
fear of inflation or worries about distortions in the
international currency markets."
"However this group is not going for exchange traded
products like ETFs or certificates but for physical metal
directly," it said. "Accordingly demand for investment bars,
(for example) in Germany, continues to remain robust."
Among other metals, platinum <XPT=> was at $1,819.84 an
ounce against $1,802.50, while palladium <XPD=> was at $818.22
versus $811. Silver <XAG=> was at $30.11 an ounce versus $28.85.
The tightest physical silver supplies in four years tipped
the U.S. silver futures market into backwardation last week,
making near-term prices more expensive than more distant months.
Market watchers said it had been more than 10 years since
silver futures were last in backwardation, a term structure
associated with shortage of physical supply. []
(Reporting by Jan Harvey; Editing by Alison Birrane)
