* Gold rises after dropping 0.6 pct overnight
* Asian stocks shine as Fed minutes hint at patience on hike
(Updates prices)
By A. Ananthalakshmi
SINGAPORE, Oct 9 (Reuters) - Gold climbed about 1 percent on
Friday in a delayed reaction to minutes of the Federal Reserve's
last policy meeting that showed the U.S. central bank was in no
hurry to hike rates.
Spot gold XAU= was up 0.8 percent at $1,147.56 an ounce by
0632 GMT. On Thursday, prices had rallied only briefly after the
Fed minutes before closing down 0.6 percent despite a softer
dollar. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N128230
The minutes pointed to a deeply cautious Fed even before
subsequent economic data showed a sharp slowdown in hiring by
U.S. employers. Most policymakers, however, thought the Fed's
first rate hike in a decade should still come this year.
"Gold was choppy following the U.S. FOMC minutes that did
not give a clear indication of whether or not the Fed is poised
to raise interest rates this year," said analysts at
ScotiaMocatta, referring to the Federal Open Market Committee.
Asian stocks rose on Friday and the dollar nursed losses as
investors pared bets that the central bank will hike interest
rates this year given the dovish minutes. MKTS/GLOB
"The tone from the FOMC minutes was slightly more dovish,
although this wasn't too surprising," said ANZ. "Overall, the
FOMC still see risks to the downside for U.S. real GDP and
inflation forecasts, with recent global growth and financial
market developments exacerbating these downside risks."
A delayed rate rise could support non-interest-paying gold,
although uncertainty could weigh on prices in the near term.
Gold is up 0.8 percent for the week, after hitting a
near-two-week high earlier in the week.
Among other precious metals, silver XAG= was set for a
near-4 percent weekly jump, after hitting a 3-1/2-month high on
Wednesday on a softer dollar and expectations of a delay in a
U.S. rate hike.
Platinum XPT= was on track for a 6-percent gain for the
week, its best weekly performance since September 2012. The gain
follows a drop in prices to a near seven-year low last week, as
investors believed the Volkswagen (XETRA:VOWG) emissions scandal would reduce
demand for diesel cars, in which the metal is used in catalysts.
Palladium XPD= was headed for its fifth straight weekly
gain.
PRICES AT 0632 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg
Spot gold 1147.56 9 0.79
Spot silver 15.79 0.13 0.83
Spot platinum 962.8 19.05 2.02
Spot palladium 707.72 9.72 1.39
Comex gold 1147.2 2.9 0.25
Comex silver 15.81 0.044 0.28
COMEX gold and silver contracts show the
most active months