* Gold falls further on fund selling
* Nikkei up 2.7 percent, dollar steady ahead of data
(Updates prices)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Gold slipped on Wednesday on
fund selling and chart weakness knocked the price off a near
four-month high above $930 an ounce, with dealers now turning
their attention to a string of economic data for leads.
But investment inflows could also provide strong underlying
support as holdings at the world's largest gold-backed
exchange-traded fund hit a record high above 800 tonnes.
[]
Gold <XAU=> was trading at $898.50 an ounce, down $1.90
from New York's notional close on Tuesday and more than 3
percent below last Friday's highs of $930.40 -- within sight of
a lifetime high fo $1,030.80 struck last March.
"On a personal opinion, I think it may fall in the near
term. From what I heard, the people around me are all talking
about gold moving higher, and on a contrarian note, we should
think it will come down," a dealer in Singapore said.
"And it's near the uptrend supports now. I am looking at
the $885 to $890s for support. Anything below that should
trigger further sales," said the delear, referring to levels
seen late in January.
Bullion has gained more than 30 percent since falling to a
13-month low around $680 in late October, but the rebound also
ignited sales of scraps in Asia, which, together with fund
selling, put pressure on prices.
"It looks like gold is consolidating around these levels
for a little while and waiting for the non-farm payrolls data
on Friday," said Ronald Leung, director of Lee Cheong Gold
Dealers in Hong Kong.
Some investors ditched gold for shares following gains in
the stock markets, said Leung, adding that bullion's failure to
hold onto the recent gains also contributed to the current
weakness. "There's disappointed selling," he said.
The Nikkei <> rose 2.7 percent on Wednesday to snap a
three-day losing streak on hopes that China's economy may soon
turn the corner. []
The dollar barely changed against a basket of currencies on
Wednesday before jobs data in the United States and interest
rate decisions by central banks in Europe. []
Investors awaited the U.S. ADP employment report for
January, due later on Wednesday, as a pointer ahead of Friday's
key jobs data, which could offer direction to the dollar and
set the tone for precious metals as the two move in opposite
directions.
The euro eased to 1.3026 <EUR=> ahead of the ECB's rate
decision on Thursday, when it is widely expected to take a
break in its rate cutting cycle though it may take action again
in March. []
Tuesday's data showed pending sales of existing U.S. homes
rebounded in December as buyers waded back into the market to
take advantage of lower prices and mortgage interest rates.
[]
New York gold futures <GCJ9> added $8.4 at $900.9 an ounce.
Platinum <XPT=> was trading at $958.50, down $1 from New
York's notional close.
PRICES
Metal Last Change Pct chg Day ago pct MA 30
RSI Spot gold $898.50 -$1.90 -0.21% +0.17% $860.10
59
Spot silver $12.35 -$0.05 -0.40% +3.09% $11.29
71
Spot plat $958.50 -$1.00 -0.10% -1.24% $958.83
52
COMEX gold $898.50 $6.50 +0.73% -0.89% $865.70
58
TOCOM gold 2,584 -11 -0.42% -1.75% 2,502
59
TOCOM plat 2,756 -33 -1.18% -1.99% 2,706
56
Currencies
Euro/dlr $1.301 -$0.012 -0.93% -1.24%
Dlr/yen 89.06 -1.32 -1.46% +0.16%
(Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
