Goudprijs stabiel in afwachting bijeenkomst Europese leiders.......
Intro:
* China Q3 GDP up 7.4 pct on year as expected
* Gold may face more pressure in short term
* Coming up: European Council meeting (until Oct. 19)
Volledige analyse:
Gold traded flat on Thursday,
retaining gains from the previous two days, as investors looked
for fresh leads from a European Union summit after shrugging off
data showing China's economy slowed for a seventh quarter as
expected.
European leaders will gather for a two-day meeting amid talk
that Spain will seek a bailout next month, as the bloc continues
to struggle with its debt crisis.
Gold has closely followed moves in the currency market, with improving sentiment around the euro zone giving support to the euro and weighing on the dollar, making dollar-priced commodities more attractive for buyers holding other currencies.
China's economy slid into its seventh straight quarter of slowdown in the July-September quarter, growing at 7.4 percent on the year as expected, and Beijing said the country would be able to beat or exceed the annual growth target of 7.5 percent.
Investors expect more policy clarity from Beijing after the leadership transition next month amid speculation that China will launch more stimulus measures to help boost growth.
Prices of bullion dipped to below $1,730 earlier in the week under the pressure of uncertainty over Spain's bailout plan and improvement in U.S. economic data which triggered concerns about the extent of the latest stimulus measures.
"In the short term, the $1,730 support level will continue to feel a lot of pressure as investors focus on the euro zone summit," said Chen Min, an analyst at Jinrui Futures in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen.
"But beyond that, gold's outlook is still bullish thanks to support from the easing measures by central banks."
Spot gold was trading nearly flat at $1,750.09 an ounce by 0629 GMT.
U.S. gold was also little changed at $1,751.70.
"Some buyers are coming back, thinking the sell-off is over," said a Hong Kong-based trader. "But we may see another correction since positioning in gold is still very high."
Net length in U.S. gold hit a 14-month high of 198,194 contracts last week, more than double this year's trough in late-July.
Holdings of gold-backed exchange-traded funds stood at 74.804 million ounces, not far off a record of 75.03 million ounces hit last week, suggesting strong investment demand in gold.
By Rujun Shen
