SINGAPORE, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Gold drifted in a tight range
on Wednesday, holding overnight losses, as investors awaited
cues from the dollar and oil markets in thin pre-holiday trade.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= was little changed at $1,073.46 an ounce
by 0040 GMT. The metal eased 0.6 percent on Tuesday, snapping a
two-day rally.
* Bullion failed to get a lift from a softer dollar, weak
U.S. housing data and a modest rebound in oil prices.
* The dollar slipped against a basket of currencies on
Tuesday as more traders booked profits on bullish greenback bets
following the Federal Reserve's interest rate increase last week
and a steep drop in existing home sales in November.
* A softer dollar would have typically sent
greenback-denominated gold higher.
* U.S. home resales posted their sharpest drop in five years
in November. Other data on Tuesday showed the U.S.
economy grew at a fairly healthy clip in the third quarter as
strong consumer and business spending offset efforts by
businesses to reduce an inventory glut.
* Elsewhere, oil prices stabilized after earlier plumbing
multi-year lows. Gold is positively co-related to oil as the
metal is seen as a hedge against old-led inflation.
* Trading is expected to be quiet as liquidity thins ahead
of the Christmas holiday. Japanese markets were closed on
Wednesday.
* Gold could see some sharp moves as dealers square their
books in year-end trading. Short positions on COMEX gold are at
a record high, according to recent U.S. government data, a
factor that could trigger some short covering.
* But investor sentiment towards gold remains largely
bearish as its fate depends on the outlook of the dollar and the
pace of the Fed's future rate hikes.
* Several brokerages have predicted a drop below $1,000 an
ounce next year. Assets of the top gold exchange-traded fund are
near a seven-year low.
* For the top stories on metals and other news, click
TOP/MTL or GOL
MARKET NEWS
* Asia shares edged higher on Wednesday following a modest
bounce on Wall Street, while the dollar drifted lower and the
slump in oil prices paused if only for a day.
DATA AHEAD (GMT)
0745 France Consumer spending Nov
0745 France Detailed GDP Q3
0930 Britain GDP Final Q3
1330 U.S. Personal income Nov
1330 U.S. Durable goods orders Nov
1500 U.S. New home sales Nov
PRICES AT 0040 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg
Spot gold 1073.46 1.5 0.14
Spot silver 14.29 0.035 0.25
Spot platinum 868.74 -1.62 -0.19
Spot palladium 555.3 2.65 0.48
Comex gold 1073.3 -0.8 -0.07
Comex silver 14.285 -0.029 -0.2
COMEX gold and silver contracts show the
most active months
on Wednesday, holding overnight losses, as investors awaited
cues from the dollar and oil markets in thin pre-holiday trade.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= was little changed at $1,073.46 an ounce
by 0040 GMT. The metal eased 0.6 percent on Tuesday, snapping a
two-day rally.
* Bullion failed to get a lift from a softer dollar, weak
U.S. housing data and a modest rebound in oil prices.
* The dollar slipped against a basket of currencies on
Tuesday as more traders booked profits on bullish greenback bets
following the Federal Reserve's interest rate increase last week
and a steep drop in existing home sales in November.
* A softer dollar would have typically sent
greenback-denominated gold higher.
* U.S. home resales posted their sharpest drop in five years
in November. Other data on Tuesday showed the U.S.
economy grew at a fairly healthy clip in the third quarter as
strong consumer and business spending offset efforts by
businesses to reduce an inventory glut.
* Elsewhere, oil prices stabilized after earlier plumbing
multi-year lows. Gold is positively co-related to oil as the
metal is seen as a hedge against old-led inflation.
* Trading is expected to be quiet as liquidity thins ahead
of the Christmas holiday. Japanese markets were closed on
Wednesday.
* Gold could see some sharp moves as dealers square their
books in year-end trading. Short positions on COMEX gold are at
a record high, according to recent U.S. government data, a
factor that could trigger some short covering.
* But investor sentiment towards gold remains largely
bearish as its fate depends on the outlook of the dollar and the
pace of the Fed's future rate hikes.
* Several brokerages have predicted a drop below $1,000 an
ounce next year. Assets of the top gold exchange-traded fund are
near a seven-year low.
* For the top stories on metals and other news, click
TOP/MTL or GOL
MARKET NEWS
* Asia shares edged higher on Wednesday following a modest
bounce on Wall Street, while the dollar drifted lower and the
slump in oil prices paused if only for a day.
DATA AHEAD (GMT)
0745 France Consumer spending Nov
0745 France Detailed GDP Q3
0930 Britain GDP Final Q3
1330 U.S. Personal income Nov
1330 U.S. Durable goods orders Nov
1500 U.S. New home sales Nov
PRICES AT 0040 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg
Spot gold 1073.46 1.5 0.14
Spot silver 14.29 0.035 0.25
Spot platinum 868.74 -1.62 -0.19
Spot palladium 555.3 2.65 0.48
Comex gold 1073.3 -0.8 -0.07
Comex silver 14.285 -0.029 -0.2
COMEX gold and silver contracts show the
most active months