Gold falls in London

Gold fell on Monday to flirt with recent multiweek lows, with trade proving volatile in the quiet holiday season and as analysts predicted further dollar strength would pressure prices in the New Year. Gold traded at $1,104.80 an ounce at 1459 GMT, versus $1,112.25 an ounce late in New York on Friday when bullion rose.
Last week gold fell below a psychological support level of $1,100 to a six-week low of $1,094.50, losing grip of a record high above $1,226 hit on December 3. "Nobody's going to put on fresh positions at this time of year," said Robin Bhar, an analyst at Calyon. "If I was putting money in the gold market I'd be biding my time," he said, adding that prices were likely to continue to correct early next year.
"There'll be a better time to buy," he said, adding that longer-term the gold rally still has more steam left. "Its not the end of the gold story yet." Gold has come under pressure recently from a strengthening dollar, with the currency hitting 3-month highs against the euro last week. The currency is expected to firm further in early 2010, analysts said, curbing gold's appeal as an alternative investment and making the precious metal more expensive for holders of other currencies.
Concerns over debt problems in Dubai and Greece are helping underpin the currency. Analysts also see bullion prices stalling in the short-term due to weak physical buying. Non-commercial net long US gold futures positions rose 0.7 percent to 256,108 lots in the week to December 15 from 254,429 lots, a weekly report by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed.
The week-on-week rise was the first in three weeks. Meanwhile, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust, said its holdings stood at 1,126.611 tonnes as of December 18, up 6.097 tonnes or 0.5 percent from the previous business day. Holdings hit a record high of 1,134.03 tonnes on June 1. Silver was at $17.20 an ounce from $17.26 and platinum was at $1,419 from $1,427.50. Palladium was at $361.50 from $359.50.
"We now believe the probable year-end gold price will be around $1,050," Commerzbank said in a note. "The other precious metals, particularly silver, are likely to follow in gold's wake, albeit with a wider volatility range, and to ease in the next few days in the absence of any significant upward pressure from the US dollar."