* Gold ends flat as currencies, possible tightening weigh
* SPDR gold ETF sees 0.609-tonne outflow on Wednesday
* Coming up: U.S. February retail sales data on Friday
(Recasts, updates comments, closing prices, changes byline,
dateline, previously LONDON)
By Frank Tang
NEW YORK, March 11 (Reuters) - Gold prices ended flat on
Thursday as possible monetary tightening by China and lingering
currency volatility kept bullion investors on the sidelines.
Chinese consumer inflation data spurted to a 16-month high
in February, fueling speculation that the world's most populous
nation will tighten monetary supply soon. []
"The crux of the matter is that China's economic data is
very strong. There is a lot of talk that they will raise rates
by the next month or two," said Bruce Dunn, vice president of
trading from New Jersey-based Auramet.
Higher inflation data usually supports gold, but a strong
resolve by central banks to curb rising prices by raising
interest rate decreases the metal's investment appeal.
Spot gold <XAU=> was priced at $1,108.10 an ounce at 3:28
p.m. EST (2028 GMT) against $1,107.85 late in New York on
Wednesday. Earlier it hit a two-week low of $1,100.04 an ounce,
but it held above the $1,100 level.
U.S. April gold futures <GCJ0> on the COMEX division of the
NYMEX settled up 10 cents at $1,108.20 an ounce.
Mostly mixed equities and currency markets also failed to
provide direction to gold.
"There is a lot of uncertainty in the stock market. Right
now, it is a wait-and-see attitude in the marketplace," said
Adam Klopfenstein, senior market strategist at Lind-Waldock, a
unit of MF Global.
The dollar traded little changed after mixed data on U.S.
trade and jobless claims. []
"Gold is struggling because we have a stronger dollar, and
there has been very little inflow into exchange-traded funds,"
said Deutsche Bank's head of commodity research Michael Lewis.
Data showed holdings of the world's largest gold-backed
ETF, New York's SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, fell by 0.609 tonnes on
Wednesday, almost the same amount by which they rose at the end
of last week. []
Persistent fears over sovereign debt issues in peripheral
euro zone economies like Greece and Spain are keeping the euro
under pressure, but are also lifting safe-haven flows into
gold.
"The next move is going to be dictated off the currency
market," said Klopfenstein. A dollar rally due to more fiscal
problems out of Europe will likely hurt gold, but the metal
could benefit if an oversold euro bounces back, he said.
SELL ORDERS, CTA LIQUIDATION
Traders said that recent rallies toward the $1,125 to
$1,130 area were met by heavy sell-orders, and that liquidation
by commodity trading advisors (CTAs) also pressured prices.
In supply news, South Africa's statistics service said the
country's gold output fell 18.2 percent year-on-year in
January. The republic was the world's second-largest gold miner
last year behind China, according to the World Gold Council.
[]
Industrial metals slipped as production and inflation data
from China stoked investor concerns of further monetary
tightening in the world's top metals consumer. []
Similar worries knocked the industrial precious metals
lower. Autocatalyst material palladium <XPD=>, which last week
benefited from strong Chinese car sales data, was the biggest
faller, sliding as much as 3.5 percent before recovering.
The metal was last at $459 against $461.50.
Platinum <XPT=> was at $1,606 an ounce against $1,592.
Silver <XAG=> was at $17.10 an ounce against $16.97.
Close Change Pct 2009 YTD
Chg Close % Chg
US gold <GCJ0> 1108.20 0.1 0.0 1096.20 1.1
US silver <SIK0> 17.160 0.142 0.8 16.845 1.9
US platinum <PLJ0> 1612.70 22.50 1.4 1471.00 9.6
US palladium <PAM0> 461.00 -3.65 -0.8 408.85 12.8
Prices at 3:47 p.m. EST (2047 GMT)
Gold <XAU=> 1108.85 1.00 0.1 1096.35 1.1
Silver <XAG=> 17.12 0.15 0.9 16.84 1.7
Platinum <XPT=> 1608.50 16.50 1.0 1465.50 9.8
Palladium <XPD=> 459.00 -2.500 -0.5 405.50 13.2
Gold Fix <XAUFIX=> 1104.00 -2.00 -0.2 1104 0.0
Silver Fix <XAGFIX=> 16.91 -56.00 -3.2 16.99 -0.5
Platinum Fix <XPTFIX=> 1580.00 7.00 0.4 1466 7.8
Palladium Fix<XPDFIX=> 447.00 4.00 0.9 402 11.2
(Additional reporting by Jan Harvey in London; editing by Jim
Marshall)
