* Gold falls in tandem with other commodities
* SPDR gold ETF sees biggest 1-day drop in over 3 months
* Reuters poll shows gold expected to plateau in 2012
* Coming up: U.S. Dec. new home sales due Wednesday
(Recasts, updates prices, market activity to settlement)
By Frank Tang
NEW YORK, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Gold fell for a fourth
straight day on Tuesday, putting the metal on track for its
first monthly drop since August, as selling in gold exchange
traded funds (ETF) further undermined investor demand for
bullion.
Analysts said they expected gold's 10-year bull run to
remain intact due to lingering economic uncertainty. In a
comprehensive Reuters poll, analysts called for an average
price of $1,450 an ounce in 2011.
Other commodities also fell on Tuesday. U.S. crude oil
dropped 1.5 percent and copper fell to its lowest since late
December. The Reuters-Jefferies CRB index <.CRB> headed for its
sharpest loss in three weeks. [] [] []
Barclays Capital analysts cited an outflow in holdings of
gold exchange traded products.
Investor sentiment towards gold has soured in the last few
sessions. On Jan. 24, the SPDR Gold Trust, the world's biggest
gold ETF, saw its largest one-day outflow in three months, when
holdings <GLD> fell 10.926 tonnes to 1,260.843 tonnes.
The fund's holdings are down about 20 tonnes in January.
[]
Spot gold <XAU=> fell 0.1 percent to $1,333.78 an ounce at
3:52 p.m. EST (2052 GMT). Early in the session, it hit a
three-month low at $1,322.70. U.S. gold futures for February
delivery <GCG1> settled down $12.2 at $1,332.30.
U.S. COMEX gold futures volume totaled about 265,000 lots,
about two-third above its 30-day average and in line with
recent higher volume, preliminary Reuters data showed.
Spot prices are on course for a 6 percent decline in
January, which would be the biggest monthly fall since a
7-percent drop in December 2009. Selling is largely a
consequence of a current run of positive economic data.
"Gold is still a useful hedge for portfolios" in light of
intense financial uncertainty in the euro zone, the prospect of
inflation and budget deficits in the United States, said Mark
Luschini, chief investment strategist of Janney Montgomery
Scott, a financial services firm managing $53 billion client
assets.
Luschini said the metal's recent weakness was a result of
signs of normalization in global economic activities, but
gold's long-term bull run as a safe haven remained unchanged.
For the moment, strong consumer demand, particularly in
Asia, continues to provide a floor for spot gold prices,
dealers said.
Trade data by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission
(CFTC), however, showed investment interest, measured by the
net speculative long bullish position in U.S. gold futures,
fell to the lowest level since July of 2009.
Also pressuring gold was strong demand at the euro zone
rescue fund's first debt offer, which helped push the euro to
two-month highs. The single currency later lost ground in a
volatile session . []
The European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) launched
its first sale of bonds and market sources said demand, at 48
billion euros, dwarfed the 5 billion on offer. []
REUTERS POLL SHOWS GOLD PLATEAUING
Longer term, ongoing jitters over growth and expectations
interest rates will stay low for now are buoying analysts'
expectations for gold, a Reuters poll of 65 analysts released
on Tuesday showed.
However, they see prices plateauing next year as economic
conditions normalize. []
"Nothing fundamentally has changed at all. It's just that
too many investors have gotten long (bullish)," said Dennis
Gartman, publisher of the Gartman Letter.
"The weakness in the past week and a half has made those
late to the party uncomfortable, forcing them to sell. In the
process, it will make the market healthy again," he said.
Spot silver <XAG=> fell 0.5 percent to $26.79 an ounce,
having earlier fallen to $26.54, its lowest in nearly two
months.
ETF flows have also undermined silver. Holdings of metal in
the iShares Silver Trust <SLV>, the world's largest silver ETF,
have fallen by 425.3 tonnes so far this month, worth about $364
million at today's prices.
Platinum <XPT=> fell for a second day, down 1.8 percent to
$1,779.99 an ounce, while palladium <XPD=> fell 3.7 percent to
$779.97, set for its biggest daily fall since mid-November.
Prices at 3:54 p.m. EST (2054 GMT)
LAST/ NET PCT YTD
CLOSE CHG CHG CHG
US gold <GCG1> 1332.30 -12.20 -0.9% -6.3%
US silver <SIH1> 26.805 -0.516 0.0% -13.4%
US platinum <PLJ1> 1784.20 -30.40 -1.7% 0.3%
US palladium <PAH1> 784.75 -31.80 -3.9% -2.3%
Gold <XAU=> 1334.15 -0.10 0.0% -6.0%
Silver <XAG=> 26.85 -0.06 -0.2% -13.0%
Platinum <XPT=> 1784.00 -27.99 -1.5% 0.9%
Palladium <XPD=> 779.72 -29.78 -3.7% -2.5%
Gold Fix <XAUFIX=> 1324.00 -2.00 -0.2% -6.1%
Silver Fix <XAGFIX=> 26.70 -86.00 -3.1% -12.8%
Platinum Fix <XPTFIX=> 1787.00 0.00 0.0% 3.2%
Palladium Fix <XPDFIX=> 786.00 0.00 0.0% -0.6%
(Additional reporting by Amanda Cooper and Jan Harvey in
London; editing by Sofina Mirza-Reid and David Gregorio)
