Singapore: Gold retreated from sharp overnight gains early on Wednesday as the U.S. dollar edged closer on a four-year high.
Gold has struggled to hold rallies with the dollar close to multi-year highs and big outflows from bullion funds.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold fell 0.2 percent to $1,161.60 an ounce by 0044 GMT, after gaining 1.2 percent on Tuesday from a softer dollar. The metal has been unable to make a convincing break from a 4-1/2 year low of $1,131.85 reached last weak.
* A stronger dollar and equities, along with optimism over the U.S. economic recovery, have hurt gold.
* The dollar index remained near a four-year peak of 88.190 hit last Friday, while the greenback was close to a seven-year high against the yen.
* SPDR Gold Trust, the world`s top gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell 0.12 percent to 724.46 tonnes on Tuesday - a fresh six-year low.
* The bullion industry`s annual conference agreed prices would nurse losses over the next year.
* Lower prices have led South Africa`s AngloGold Ashanti to plan staff cuts through voluntary severances.
* The London Bullion Market Association will stop producing its gold lending rates data from Jan. 30 as banks shy away from the risks of providing financial benchmarks, a source close to the situation said on Tuesday.
* Physical demand has shown signs of picking up as prices have somewhat stabilised, after last week`s muted response to lower prices.
MARKET NEWS
* U.S. stock prices were steady on Tuesday after the Dow and Standard & Poor`s 500 hit record intra-day highs for a fifth straight session, while the dollar rose against the yen on the prospect of a delay in a planned sales tax hike in Japan.
