* Market awaits direction amid economic, political
uncertainties
* Gold may drop to $1,329.45 -technicals []
* Coming up: U.S. consumer confidence Nov; 1445 GMT
(Updates prices, adds background in paragraph 15)
By Rujun Shen
SINGAPORE, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Spot gold was steady on
Tuesday, aided by physical buying, while investors continued
to watch the progress in euro zone's debt problem and tensions
in the Korean peninsula for trading cues.
Uncertainties about how the euro zone would stabilise its
fiscal conditions continued to bother investors, even after an
agreement over the weekend on a $115-billion bailout package
for debt laden Ireland.
"We are in a period during which the market really doesn't
know which direction things are heading. The European
situation is still very uncertain. We had supposedly the
solution of the Irish situation, but it didn't seem to please
the markets too much," said Darren Heathcote, head of trading
at Investec Australia.
Gold might benefit from safe-haven buying, if situations
in Europe and Korea peninsula deteriorated. But a stronger
dollar, another beneficiary of political and economic
uncertainties, could weigh on gold prices.
The euro hovered above the two-month low hit on Monday, as
investors cast doubt on the Ireland rescue package and
expected other fiscally-troubled nations, such as Spain and
Portugal, to require aid.
"In fact, we would not be surprised to see the euro sell
off to $1.28 by yearend, if indeed these two countries start
to wobble, forcing the authorities to begin the torturous work
of cobbling yet more rescue packages," MF Global said in a
research note.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak vowed retaliation
against any further provocation by the North after it attacked
an island last week. []
Spot gold edged down 0.2 percent at $1,365.17 an
ounce by 0611 GMT, moving in a tight range of about $6.
U.S. gold futures were little changed at $1,365.5.
Spot gold is biased to fall even through it remains
technically neutral as it is rangebound between $1,350 and
$1,375, said Wang Tao, a Reuters market analyst. []
For a 24-hour gold technical outlook:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/WT/20103011092259.jpg
But physical buying in Asia remained supportive of gold
prices.
"We've seen good physical demand from China and India,
both from jewellers and investors," said a Hong Kong-based
dealer, citing premium for gold bars in Hong Kong at $1.2 to
$1.5 above London prices.
Tapping into growing appetite for gold from investors,
China's Lion Fund Management Co became the first fund house to
win approval to launch a fund that invests in gold-backed
exchange traded funds overseas. []
Concerns on more tightening from Beijing lingered, with
Shanghai shares slumping 3 percent by midday, as
drying up of cash was prompting retail investors, already on
edge over whether the central bank would introduce more
tightening measures, to sell heavily weighted financial and
commodities issues.
The International Monetary Fund has slowed the rate of
selling its gold by 40 percent in October from the previous
month, as interest among central banks to own the metal
increased as a hedge against economic uncertainty.
[]
Spot silver was little changed at $27.03 an ounce.
Precious metals prices at 0611 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover
Spot Gold 1365.17 -2.92 -0.21 24.59
Spot Silver 27.03 -0.09 -0.33 60.61
Spot Platinum 1640.99 -2.25 -0.14 11.86
Spot Palladium 688.50 -0.50 -0.07 69.79
TOCOM Gold 3699.00 6.00 +0.16 13.50 45236
TOCOM Platinum 4485.00 -13.00 -0.29 2.37 11057
TOCOM Silver 73.40 0.70 +0.96 41.97 1811
TOCOM Palladium 1865.00 32.00 +1.75 60.09 826
Euro/Dollar 1.3101
Dollar/Yen 84.04
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Himani Sarkar)
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