* Gold to rebound to $1,407/oz-technicals []
* Coming Up: U.S. jobless claims weekly; 1300 GMT
(Updates prices, adds quotes)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Gold eased on Thursday after
rising to its strongest in a week in the previous session as
strong demand for Portugal's bond sale eased concern over the
debt crisis in Europe.
Investors awaited debt auctions by Spain and Italy later
in the day and the release of U.S. jobless claims after a
recent pick up in U.S. economic data prompted some economists
to beef up growth forecasts for the first half of 2011.
[]
Spot gold fell $1.42 to $1,385.80 an ounce by 0226
GMT after rising as high as $1,388.90 on Wednesday as the U.S.
dollar dropped against the euro.
"The safehaven demand for gold may recede temporarily. I
would think that gains in gold for the day ahead may be
difficult to sustain," said Ong Yi Ling, investment analyst at
Phillip Futures in Singapore.
"I would think that $1,400 would pose some resistance for
gold, at least for the time being."
Gold was off a lifetime high around $1,430 struck in early
December, when fears the debt crisis in Europe would spread
ignited buying from investors.
But Wang Tao, a Reuters market analyst for commodities and
energy technicals, said gold was poised to rebound more to
$1,407 per ounce, as indicated by an inverted
head-and-shoulders pattern.
For a 24-hour gold technical outlook:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/WT/20111301084754.jpg
Activity in the physical market had yet to pick up, but
dealers noted some buying from main consumer India ahead of a
harvest festival later in January.
"There's light selling but the market is otherwise quiet,"
said a physical dealer in Singapore.
Premiums for gold bars were at two-year highs in Singapore
and Hong Kong. .
U.S. gold futures for February hardly moved, at
$1,385.5 an ounce.
The euro traded at one-week highs on Thursday after a
breach of its 200-day moving average sent bears scrambling to
cover short positions, though further gains could be hard to
come by ahead of bond sales from Spain and Italy.
Portugal is seen as the next euro zone candidate that will
need a bailout, but passed a key market test on Wednesday by
selling a benchmark 10-year bond at a lower yield than in the
previous auction and drawing strong demand. []
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on
Wednesday euro zone countries were working on a "comprehensive
package" to solve the bloc's debt crisis, which could be
agreed by February or March. []
Silver was steady after rising to a 1-week high on
Wednesday on steady demand from the industrial sector,
especially in China.
Silver's stellar run this year is likely to continue into
2011, with graphics showing that silver is still far below its
inflation-adjusted all-time high, but a technical correction
may happen in the next few weeks. []
For a graphic on inflation-adjusted prices of silver,
click:
http://r.reuters.com/dud95r
In equities, Japan's Nikkei stock average rose to an
eight-month intraday high for a second straight day on
Thursday, after the successful bond auction in Portugal eased
fears about the euro zone's debt crisis and lifted European
and U.S. shares.
Precious metals prices at 0226 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover
Spot Gold 1385.80 -1.42 -0.10 26.48
Spot Silver 29.63 -0.02 -0.07 76.05
Spot Platinum 1792.74 -5.76 -0.32 22.20
Spot Palladium 811.72 3.88 +0.48 100.18
TOCOM Gold 3716.00 4.00 +0.11 14.02 26635
TOCOM Platinum 4843.00 59.00 +1.23 10.55 17561
TOCOM Silver 79.50 -0.10 -0.13 53.77 941
TOCOM Palladium 2187.00 51.00 +2.39 87.73 759
Euro/Dollar 1.3112
Dollar/Yen 83.03
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
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