* Gold-silver ratio drops to lowest since 1983
* Gold rangebound between $1,422-$1,438 - technicals
* Coming up: U.S. Reuters/U Mich sentiment; 1355 GMT
(Adds details, comments; updates prices)
By Rujun Shen
SINGAPORE, March 25 (Reuters) - Spot gold held steady on
Friday below record highs hit in the previous session, as
worries about euro zone's debt crisis and Middle East turmoil
supported sentiment, but its price may be facing headwind at key
technical levels.
Standard & Poor's downgraded Portugal's credit ratings,
after its government failed to get austerity measures past
parliament, stoking fears that the country might need a bailout
after all.
Intensified euro zone debt concerns helped push spot gold to
a record peak of $1,447.40 an ounce on Thursday, and silver to a
31-year high of $38.13.
"The market will remain choppy, as the trend is not very
clear even with support from the Libyan crisis and other
factors," said Peter Fung, head of dealing at Wing Fung Precious
Metals in Hong Kong.
Spot gold inched up 0.3 percent to $1,433.65 an ounce
by 0333 GMT, on course for a weekly rise of nearly 1 percent.
U.S. gold was little changed at $1,434.
Technical analysis suggested that gold has entered a
consolidation phase, likely within a range of $1,422 and $1,438,
said Reuters market analyst Wang Tao.
"Speculation on further monetary policy easing in the U.S.,
central banks' purchase, and recovering demand from the
jewellery sector will help buoy sentiment in the gold market,"
said a Hong Kong-based dealer, but added that speculators are
wary of holding long positions at high price levels.
The physical market remained calm despite the price spike,
with Hong Kong's gold premium little changed around $1.50 an
ounce over London spot prices, dealers said.
SILVER'S APPEAL
Holdings in the world's largest physically backed
exchange-traded fund, iShares Silver Trust, arched to a record
high of 11,139.52 tonnes by March 24, up 1.6 percent from the
level on March 18.
Spot silver rose by 0.7 percent to $37.37 an ounce,
headed for a 6.5 percent weekly rise, leading the precious
metals complex.
Silver, dubbed as the poor man's gold, has become
increasingly popular among investors who seek to maximise their
exposure to bullish price outlook.
Gold-silver ratio, used to measure how many ounces of silver
is needed to buy an ounce of gold, dipped to 38.35, its lowest
since October 1983.
Spot silver gained 21 percent so far this year, compared to
just 1 percent rise in gold.
Precious metals prices 0333 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Volume
Spot Gold 1433.65 4.16 +0.29 1.00
Spot Silver 37.37 0.25 +0.67 21.10
Spot Platinum 1746.49 -2.51 -0.14 -1.19
Spot Palladium 748.47 -0.50 -0.07 -6.38
TOCOM Gold 3745.00 -8.00 -0.21 0.43 28601
TOCOM Platinum 4586.00 -3.00 -0.07 -2.34 6463
TOCOM Silver 97.30 0.10 +0.10 20.12 1452
TOCOM Palladium 1957.00 9.00 +0.46 -6.68 93
COMEX GOLD APR1 1434.00 -0.90 -0.06 0.89 4644
COMEX SILVER MAY1 37.40 0.02 +0.07 20.88 3048
Euro/Dollar 1.4166
Dollar/Yen 80.99
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
COMEX gold and silver contracts show the most active months
(Editing by Ramthan Hussain)
Reuters
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