* Gold retains losses from previous session
* Prices plunge on dovish ECB, U.S. data; rebound on
short-covering
* Dollar strength, technicals drag
(Releads, adds comment, updates prices)
By Mariana Ionova
LONDON, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Gold fell to its lowest in more
than a week on Thursday, pressured by a strong dollar and
uncertainty over the timing of a U.S. Federal Reserve interest
rate rise.
Spot gold XAU= eased 0.1 percent to $1,165.76 an ounce by
1546 GMT, after touching a new low since Oct. 13 at $1,162.50
earlier. The metal closed 0.8 percent lower the day before.
Prices were pressured by a strong dollar, which surged after
a dovish European Central Bank sent the euro tumbling and
better-than-expected U.S. jobless claims revived hopes that the
Federal Reserve may still raise rates this year. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N12M1L5
urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N12M15S
"The figures out of the U.S. were not bad at all," said
Afshin Nabavi, head of trading at MKS. "Because of that, I think
a lot of people must have gone intraday short."
Short-covering later in the session helped the metal
stabilise, although the market remained cautious as uncertainty
around U.S. monetary policy remained in focus.
Gold fell to 5-1/2 year lows earlier this year on
expectations that the U.S. central bank will raise interest
rates this year, potentially lifting the opportunity cost of
holding non-yielding bullion.
Market expectations of higher rates have been shaken
recently by sluggish U.S. data and concerns about the global
economy. But the newest figures could add to the case for a rate
rise in December.
"People are getting a bit more nervous about what's coming
up," said Georgette Boele, FX and commodity strategist at ABN
AMRO. "The market has been very dovish regarding the Fed and
they have only become more dovish recently."
Sentiment was further dampened by technicals on Thursday, as
gold drifted away from the 200-day moving average around $1,175
per ounce. The metal had held near the long-term resistance
level for six straight sessions, after last week breaking
through it for the first time since May.
"We need a real break on the upside," Nabavi said. "And
we're not really having this."
Gold is expected to keep edging down into next year. Goldman
Sachs estimates prices at $1,100 in three months, $1,050 in six
months and $1,000 in 12 months.
Silver XAG= was up 1 percent at $15.83 an ounce, platinum
XPT= rose 0.6 percent to $1,005 an ounce and palladium XPD=
gained 0.9 percent to $678.10 per ounce.
China imported 338 tonnes of silver in September, up 39
percent year-on-year, data showed on Wednesday. Imports in the
first nine months of the year rose 21.6 percent from the same
period last year. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nEAP222049