Gold slips, poised for weekly loss on strong U.S. data, dollar

Singapore (Oct 25)  Gold dipped for a third session in a row on Friday and was set to snap a two-week winning streak as a firmer U.S. dollar and robust economic data dented the metal's appeal as a hedge. Bullion's dip comes despite a tumble in U.S. stock futures and gains in other safe-havens such as bonds and the yen after a doctor in New York City tested positive for Ebola.

The metal was weighed down by strong global economic data on Thursday that calmed investor nerves after a recent selloff, prompting many to pull out of gold and get back into riskier assets. "Gold prices weakened as positive economic data hurt investor demand," said Victor Thianpiriya, an analyst at ANZ. "The combination of a stronger dollar and higher bond yields has seen gold exchange-traded fund (ETF) holdings slump.

Strong physical demand is only providing a backstop for prices," said Thianpiriya. Spot gold eased 0.2 percent to $1,229.98 an ounce by 0341 GMT, after slipping over 1 percent in the previous two sessions. The metal is headed.

Source: FinancialExpress