February 24, 2006	Friday	Muharram 25, 1427

LONDON, Feb 23: Gold prices eased into a narrow range on Thursday, midway between the high and the low for the month, as the market searched for fresh impetus, dealers said.

Gold surged to a 25-year high of $574.60 an ounce earlier this month before slipping as low as $535 last week. Spot was quoted at $552.25/553.00 by 1050 GMT, against $553.90/554.80 in New York late on Wednesday.

It traded in a band of just $4 on Thursday, compared with movements of $15-$20 earlier this month.

We believe that gold is attempting to find a range with the recent extremes of $535 and $555 likely to confine the metal for a while, said John Reade, precious metals analyst at UBS Investment Bank. Gold is in search of a fresh catalyst to return it to recent highs, he said in a daily report.—AFP