* Drop to 7-wk lows draws some bargain hunting
* Bear trend in near term, but spike up possible in thin mkt
By Chikako Mogi
TOKYO, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Gold prices spiked above $1,100 per
ounce on Thursday as a recent drop to seven-week lows spurred
some bargain hunting in a holiday-thinned market.
Traders said the market was in a downtrend in the near-term,
but that buying from Asian investors in the dip in an extremely
thin market resulted in a jump in prices before London opens
later for a half-day.
Prices could then be capped as London players often use a
rise in Asian trading hours to take profits, traders said.
"There are some Asian bargain hunters who helped push prices
higher, particularly in the thin market," said Wakako Harada, a
senior trader at Mitsubishi Corp in Tokyo, adding that thin
volumes had exaggerated prices moves.
At current levels, bullion was set to post its biggest
one-day percentage gain in more than three weeks.
Spot gold <XAU=> rose 1.4 percent to $1,102.60 as of 0650
GMT, compared to New York's notional close of $1,087.00 per
ounce. It fell to a 7-week low of $1,074.10 an ounce on Tuesday.
The precious metal rose nearly 1 percent on Wednesday, when
the dollar gave up ground to the euro after news that sales of
U.S. single-family homes slid to a seven-month low in November
called into question optimism a day earlier that sent gold to a
7-week trough.
The 11.3 percent drop in newly built U.S. home sales dealt a
blow to the housing market's recovery. []
U.S. gold futures for February delivery <GCG0> rose 0.9
percent to $1,103.50, compared to $1,094.00 an ounce on the COMEX
division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures also hit a
7-week low of $1,075.20 on Tuesday.
The weakness in the market halted flows into gold investment.
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR
Gold Trust <GLD>, said its holdings stood at 1,132.708 tonnes as
of Dec. 23, unchanged from the previous business day and staying
just below a record high of 1,134.03 tonnes hit on June 1.
[]
The world's largest silver-backed exchange-traded fund,
iShares Silver Trust <SLV>, said its silver holdings stood at
9,492.97 tonnes as of Dec. 23, unchanged from the previous
business day, after easing from a record high of 9,514.35 tonnes
on Dec. 22. []
The dollar hovered just below the week's peaks on Thursday,
after falling for the first time in five sessions against the
euro the day before. []
Precious metals prices at 0650 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover
Spot Gold 1102.35 15.35 +1.41 25.25
Spot Silver 17.30 0.21 +1.23 52.83
Spot Platinum 1445.50 27.00 +1.90 55.10
Spot Palladium 368.00 12.50 +3.52 99.46
Euro/Dollar 1.4355
Dollar/Yen 91.22
Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Joseph Radford)
