* Silver rises but still below Thursday's 11-month top
* Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) reiterates bearish view on gold
* GRAPHIC-Gold/silver ratio: http://link.reuters.com/kuq35s
(Updates prices, adds comment)
By Clara Denina
LONDON, April 22 (Reuters) - Gold slipped on Friday as the
dollar advanced versus the yen and the euro, but the metal was
still looking to post a weekly gain, while silver was set for
its biggest weekly rise in 13 months.
The dollar was up almost 2 percent against the yen on
speculation the Bank of Japan was considering applying negative
rates to its lending programme for financial institutions,
effectively starting to pay banks to borrow its cash.
Gold XAU= was down 0.5 percent at $1,242.36 an ounce by
1421 GMT, after hitting a five-week high of $1,270.10 an ounce
on Thursday.
Spot silver XAG= rose 1.5 percent to $17.25 an ounce. It
had risen to a 11-month high of $17.69 in the previous session
and was up more than 6 percent for the week.
"After yesterday's five-week high, gold today is succumbing
to the strength of the dollar against the yen and the euro,"
ActivTrades chief analyst Carlo Alberto de Casa said.
"Prices should however remain in range and only a close
below $1,225 will put on additional selling pressure."
Gold had posted its best quarter in nearly 30 years in the
three months to March on expectations that the Federal Reserve
would not be able to raise U.S. interest rates this year due to
volatile markets and concerns over the Chinese economy.
Recent data from China has showed new debt fuelling a
recovery in factory activity, investment and household spending,
stoking appetite for metals used in manufacturing.
Goldman Sachs maintained its bearish view on gold and other
commodities on Friday, and reiterated its recommendation to
short gold.
"We continue to expect that the strengthening of the U.S.
labour market will force the Fed to hike rates three times this
year, which will lead to a stronger dollar and a gradual
increase in U.S. real rates, pushing gold down," Goldman
analysts said in a note.
Copper jumped to a four-week high, while steel soared to a
19-month top on Thursday.
Silver's rally this week has also been helped by optimism
over Chinese growth, and a break above key chart resistance.
HSBC said the gold and silver rallies could be running into
headwinds.
"For silver, we favour the market above $17, but expect
volatility and further gains may be hard to hold. On the
positive side, it appears that solar-panel demand is up and
retail demand is solid for silver," it said, adding that gold
may need to consolidate around $1,250 before moving higher.
Among other precious metals, platinum XPT= was set to log
its strongest week in seven with a 4.5 percent rise. It had
climbed to a 9-1/2-month high of $1,043.72 an ounce on Thursday.
Palladium XPD= was unchanged at $602.21 an ounce and
poised for a weekly rise of 7 percent, after climbing to its
highest since November on Thursday.
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GRAPHIC-Gold/silver ratio http://link.reuters.com/kuq35s
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