* Gold to retrace to $1,350/oz-technicals
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(Updates prices, adds quotes)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Gold edged down on Thursday
after holdings on the ETF slipped again, but a weaker U.S.
dollar could stir up trade after comments by Federal Reserve
Chairman Ben Bernanke indicated the central bank was in no rush
to raise interest rates.
The physical sector was muted, although there were also talk
that some banks were buying gold bars in anticipation of demand
from China after the Lunar New year festival. Platinum dropped
after rising to its highest since mid-2008.
Spot gold lost 64 cents to $1,362.25 an ounce by 0341
GMT, but dealers hoped unrest in Egypt could still ignite safe
haven buying. Gold was well below a lifetime high around $1,430
an ounce hit in December.
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR
Gold Trust , said its holdings slipped to 1,226.436 tonnes
by Feb. 9, their lowest since late January, from 1,228.560
tonnes on Feb. 8.
"I think the market at the moment is in itself lost, to be
honest. On one hand, it seems relatively well supported at
probably around $1,355 level. On the top side, it's struggling
to get above $1,368," said Darren Heathcote, head of trading at
Investec Australia.
"We still have got the potential for further geopolitical
unrest within Egypt."
Egypt must do more to meet protester demands for political
change, the United States said on Wednesday in a sharp
escalation of rhetoric with one of its most important allies in
the Middle East.
The Obama administration has struggled to calibrate its
message on Egypt, where the protests have raised fears of
Islamist radicalization that could threaten Cairo's 1979 peace
accord with Israel and its role in Middle East peace efforts.
Spot gold is expected to retrace to $1,350 per ounce,
as it failed to rise on Wednesday, and a bullish target at
$1,384 is temporarily aborted, according to Wang Tao, who is a
Reuters market analyst for commodities and energy technicals.
For a weekly gold technical outlook:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/WT/20111002091646.jpg
U.S. gold futures for April fell $2.8 an ounce to
$1,362.8 an ounce.
The dollar was on the defensive against the euro on Thursday
after Treasury yields fell on comments by Fed Chairman Bernanke
that its bond buying programme would continue.
"Officially China is back, but as you know, they may be
still be in their celebration mood and need time to pick up,"
said a physical dealer in Singapore, referring to Chinese
investors and jewellers.
"But I heard that one ton of gold offered two days ago, was
napped up by a bank for Hong Kong and China immediately."
In the energy market, Brent crude rose above $102 on
Thursday, supported by the ongoing tension in Egypt and tighter
North Sea supplies, which contrasted with higher crude stockpile
in the U.S., causing the spread between the benchmarks to stay
wide.
Japan's Nikkei average was nearly flat on Thursday after
falling in early trade as investors kept taking profits on a
recent rise in share prices and amid wariness about overheating
in the market.
"The market is extremely quiet and prices are stuck around
the $1,360 level," said another dealer in Singapore.
Precious metals prices 0341 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover
Spot Gold 1362.25 -0.64 -0.05 -4.03
Spot Silver 30.15 -0.02 -0.07 -2.30
Spot Platinum 1844.49 -9.00 -0.49 4.36
Spot Palladium 825.97 -0.50 -0.06 3.31
TOCOM Gold 3628.00 4.00 +0.11 -2.71 23006
TOCOM Platinum 4948.00 -29.00 -0.58 5.37 8766
TOCOM Silver 79.90 0.30 +0.38 -1.36 1017
TOCOM Palladium 2201.00 -16.00 -0.72 4.96 226
Euro/Dollar 1.3708
Dollar/Yen 82.53
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in
$ per ounce.
(Reporting by Lewa Pardomuan; Editing by
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