December 15, 2007	Saturday	Zilhaj 4, 1428

LONDON, Dec 14: Gold edged lower to trade below $800 on Friday, pressured by a firmer dollar, with the bullion market awaiting key US data later in the day for direction.

But thin market conditions ahead of Christmas and the New

Year exposed the metal to wide fluctuations. It was expected to trade in a broad range of $785-$820 an ounce for the rest of the year, dealers said.

Spot gold fell to $795.80/796.50 an ounce against $797.10/797.80 late in New York on Thursday, when it tumbled around 2 per cent on rising US dollar.

The trade seems to me to be pretty much within a range, with selling above $810 and buying just around the $790 level.

Friday sees the release of US consumer prices for November followed by industrial production at 1415 GMT.

Investors would also pay close attention to news from the financial sector, with more banks reporting results next week.

Gold is traditionally seen as a safe-haven asset and its appeal rises in difficult financial and political conditions.

The metal often moves in the opposite direction of the dollar.

Gold has lost around 5 per cent in value since hitting a 28-year high of $845.40 an ounce in early November as investors and speculators booked profits ahead of the year-end. It hit its lowest in nearly two weeks at $777 in early December.

For next week, we expect things to calm down a bit, with physical industrial demand, not only in Asia, but also in Europe, slowing down and should see the metal trading in the $792-$822 an ounce range, Wolfgang Wrzesniok-Rossbach, head of metals sales at Germany’s Heraeus, said in note.

The key October 2008 contract ended 10 yen per gram lower at 2,925 yen. US gold futures advanced, with the February contract trading down $3.4 an ounce at $800.60.

In market news, exports of once-dominant Italian jewellery to the key US market fell 7.1 per cent year-on-year to 439 million euros ($645 million) in the first eight months of 2007.—Reuters