* Dollar rebounds from 10-month low
* Gold could retrace to $1,365 - technicals []
* Coming up: U.S. Fed Chairman Bernanke speaks; 1215 GMT
By Rujun Shen
SINGAPORE, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Gold was steady on Friday,
pausing from a record-breaking rally on a stronger dollar, and
as investors await U.S. economic data and a speech from Federal
Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke for cues on monetary policy.
A fresh batch of U.S. economic data, including inflation
and retail sales, is due later in the day, after
worse-than-expected weekly jobless claims numbers on Thursday
helped propel gold to a new record high of $1,387.10.
The Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is also scheduled
to speak on the monetary policy later in the day.
"There are a few things tonight the market would want its
teeth stuck into. They obviously help colour the picture and
clarify whether or not the Fed would come forward with QE2 (a
second round of quantitative monetary easing), and if it does,
by how much," said Darren Heathcote, head of trading at
Investec Australia.
Spot gold <XAU=> gained 0.2 percent to $1,379.25 an ounce
by 0321 GMT, on course for a 2.5 percent gain from a week
earlier and a fifth consecutive week of gains.
Keeping prices in check, the dollar edged higher on Friday,
pulling away from a 10-month low hit against a basket of
currencies the previous day as investors trimmed short
positions in the greenback following its recent slide. []
Gold is likely to retrace to $1,365 an ounce before moving
higher towards the target of $1,404 early next week, according
to Wang Tao, a Reuters market analyst. []
For a graphic showing the 24-hour gold technical outlook:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/WT/20101510091447.jpg
The physical gold market saw thin trade in early Asian
hours, as traders moved to the sidelines after prices kept
breaking records.
"All are hiding. Jewellers are not selling much. People are
not very confident in the dollar, and are looking at $1,400
level for gold," said a Singapore-based dealer.
"We are seeing some buying from speculators, but not users.
Even bullion traders are hiding."
Purchases from China has kept premium for gold bars steady
at 70 cents to spot London prices in Hong Kong, as Chinese
investors, who are put off by volatile stock market and the
government's move to curb speculation on property, are lured to
gold. []
Holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust <GLD.P>, the world's largest
gold-backed exchange-traded fund, gained 1.5 percent from the
previous day to 1,304.342 tonnes, regaining nearly all the
outflow from the fund this month. []
"Gold has had a very strong rise, which obviously is
encouraging to people to get on board. People are happy to stay
invested and to go even longer," said Heathcote.
Spot silver <XAG=> also posted gains, up 0.3 percent at
$24.69 an ounce, after hitting a 30-year high of $24.90 on
Thursday. Silver is posed to gain 6.4 percent this week, on a
five-week winning streak, matching a similar rally in early
2009.
iShares Silver Trust <SLV> said its holdings rose 38.03 tonnes
to a new all-time high at 10,163.20 tonnes by Oct 14.
Spot palladium <XPD=> rose to a new nine-year high of
$603.50 an ounce in early Asian trade, before easing to
$598.75.
Precious metals prices at 0321 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 1379.25 2.50 +0.18 25.88
Spot Silver 24.69 0.08 +0.33 46.70
Spot Platinum 1706.00 1.85 +0.11 16.29
Spot Palladium 598.75 1.30 +0.22 47.66
TOCOM Gold 3617.00 7.00 +0.19 10.98
30666
TOCOM Platinum 4493.00 -7.00 -0.16 2.56
5424
TOCOM Silver 64.90 0.70 +1.09 25.53
1207
TOCOM Palladium 1578.00 2.00 +0.13 35.45
205
Euro/Dollar 1.4030
Dollar/Yen 81.38
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Ed Lane)
