* Gold slips to $1,100/oz as dlr firms after IMF sales plan
* Australian, New Zealand dollar slide []
* SPDR Gold holdings flat
(Updates prices, comments)
By Risa Maeda
TOKYO, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Gold prices fell on Thursday,
squeezed after the U.S. dollar firmed on upbeat economic data
and commodity-linked currencies slipped on news the IMF planned
to sell more gold in the open market.
The IMF said it would begin phased open-market sales of the
remaining 191.3 tonnes of gold under a programme launched last
year to raise new resources for lending. Traders said the
multi-lateral lender may seek buyers among Asian central banks.
[]
Spot gold <XAU=> dropped about 1 percent on the news,
dragging the Aussie <AUD=D4> and the New Zealand dollar
<NZD=D4> along with it. By 0540 GMT, the precious metal was
down 0.5 percent at $1,100.40 from New York's notional close of
$1,106.00.
Spot gold had hit a peak of $1,126.85 an ounce on Wednesday
ahead of the IMF statement, its highest since Jan. 20. []
"The immediate impact here is obviously lower on gold
prices. But this is probably a knee-jerk reaction," said Jacob
Oubina, a senior currency strategist at Forex.com, in New
Jersey.
"At the end of the day, the sales from the IMF are
well-known. In the medium term, I don't think this is going to
have a discernible impact. I think gold is still a viable asset
because I expect the global economy to recover in the second
half."
Traders and analysts said the aggressive selling may offer
good bargain-hunting opportunities.
"Gold came off a little bit to start with, but now what
we're seeing is buying back into the market on the dip," said
Nigel Phelan, Australia & New Zealand director for ETF
Securities in Sydney.
Expectations the IMF would not sell gold in a manner that
damaged the gold market also helped curb selling pressure.
"Gold is showing some resilience despite a weakening euro
and the news of IMF selling," said Shuji Sugata, a manager at
Mitsubishi Corp Futures Ltd's research team.
To avoid disruptions to the gold market, the IMF said the
sales would be done "in a phased manner over time". It kept
open the possibility that central banks could buy gold
directly.
The fund announced last year it would sell a total of 403.3
tonnes of gold, about one-eighth of its total stock, in an
effort to diversify its sources of income and step up low-cost
lending to poor countries.
Until now the gold has only been made available to central
banks. India, Mauritius and Sri Lanka have been purchasers.
For a graphic of the world's top 10 gold holders, cick:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/0210/GLD_TPHLD0210.gif
The IMF move could take a bit of wind out of gold's rally,
said Peter Buchanan, a senior economist with CIBC World Markets
in Toronto.
"But if the U.S. dollar were to sell off it could temper
some of the downside," he added. "Also if a potential buyer
comes forward it will ease some of the concern."
The recent gold market rise was attributed to short
covering on the back of the euro's recovery. The market
struggling to recoup losses may suggest gold is vulnerable,
said Koichiro Kamei, managing director at research firm Market
Strategy Institute.
For a graphic of gold's performance in different
currencies:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/0210/CMD_GLDPRF0210.gif
The minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy meeting
last month, which was released around the same time as the IMF
news, may have been used as another excuse to book profits, he
said. []
"The minutes point to the direction for an absorption of
liquidity from the market, which will weigh on financial
markets broadly, including gold," Kamei said. "While an actual
exit policy is still a long way, investors will be reminded of
this direction when they see improving economic data, and will
cap gold price rises over the medium to long term."
U.S. gold futures for April delivery <GCJ0> were down 1.6
percent at $1,101.60 an ounce. On Wednesday, the contract ended
30 cents higher at $1,120.10 on the COMEX division of the New
York Mercantile Exchange prior to the IMF news.
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the
SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, said its holdings stood steady at
1,109.424 tonnes as of Feb. 17 from the previous day.
[]
Precious metals prices at 0540 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 1101.20 -4.80 -0.43 0.50
Spot Silver 15.75 -0.09 -0.57 -6.42
Spot Platinum 1510.50 -14.00 -0.92 2.97
Spot Palladium 427.25 -6.25 -1.44 5.36
TOCOM Gold 3230.00 -35.00 -1.07 -0.89
65691
TOCOM Platinum 4399.00 -82.00 -1.83 0.41
16303
TOCOM Silver 46.70 -1.10 -2.30 -9.67
1019
TOCOM Palladium 1245.00 -12.00 -0.95 6.87
331
Euro/Dollar 1.3567
Dollar/Yen 90.95
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Additional reporting by James Regan in Sydney and Chikako
Mogi in Tokyo)
(Editing by Ed Lane)
