SINGAPORE, April 22 - Gold edged up on Monday and held above the psychologically key level of $1,400 an ounce, although sentiment was shaky after steady outflows from exchange-traded funds trimmed holdings to their lowest in three years.
But physical demand was expected to offer support as gold retailers struggled to cope with a surge in buying interest for bars, coins, nuggets and jewellery following a recent slump in prices.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Gold had added $1.49 an ounce to $1,405.34 by 0032 GMT. It fell around 5 percent last week after notching its biggest-ever daily loss in dollar terms on Monday. The collapse surprised many veteran investors, who see gold as portfolio protection against inflation and other market risks.
* U.S. gold for June delivery was at $1,406.70 an ounce, up $11.10.
* Holdings of the largest gold-backed exchange-traded-fund (ETF), New York's SPDR Gold Trust GLD, dropped 0.88 percent on Friday from Thursday, while those of the largest silver-backed ETF, New York's iShares Silver Trust SLV remained unchanged for the same period.
* But hedge funds and other big speculators ploughed new money into gold even after the precious metal posted a record loss in dollar terms this week, according to trading data on
Friday that also showed inflows for many other commodities
* It is too early for the European Central Bank to judge whether a further interest rate cut is needed but the impact of Japan's easing must be closely monitored, ECB Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny said on Saturday.
MARKET NEWS
* Bulls drove Japanese shares to nearly five-year highs as yen bears clawed at the symbolic 100 yen/dollar door after the Group of 20 gathering in Washington all but endorsed the Bank of Japan's aggressive reflation drive.
* U.S. crude futures extended gains for a second day on Friday on bargain-hunting, while talk that OPEC could hold an emergency meeting to tackle the recent sharp price falls supported oil.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
1230 U.S. Chicago Fed National Activity index
1400 Euro zone Consumer confidence
1400 U.S. Existing home sales <USEHS=ECI
PRICES
Precious metals prices 0032 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Volume
Spot Gold 1405.34 1.49 +0.11 -16.08
Spot Silver 23.16 -0.01 -0.04 -23.51
Spot Platinum 1428.49 6.49 +0.46 -6.94
Spot Palladium 674.75 2.75 +0.41 -2.49
COMEX GOLD JUN3 1406.70 11.10 +0.80 -16.06 7746
COMEX SILVER MAY3 23.12 0.16 +0.70 -23.52 2324
Euro/Dollar 1.3059
Dollar/Yen 99.81
