Gold edges off four-year low as dollar eases

LONDON, Nov 6 (Reuters): Gold edged higher on Thursday as a retreat in the dollar took some pressure off the precious metal after its slump to four-year lows, but prices remained rangebound ahead of a European Central Bank meeting later in the day.
A surge in the dollar, in which gold is priced, knocked the metal in recent days through key chart support at $1,180 an ounce - the lowest level hit during last year's 28 per cent plunge - and $1,155 to its lowest since early 2010 at $1,137.40.
Technical analysts have said that a test of the $1,000 level could be on the cards after a break of support at $1,155, a key retracement level of its rally to record highs in 2011.
Silver prices were also battered, tumbling more than 4 per cent on Wednesday, their biggest one-day retreat in more than a year, at one point hitting a 4-1/2 year low of $15.13. Spot gold was up 0.3 per cent at $1,143.72 an ounce at 1018 GMT, while U.S. gold futures for December delivery were down $2.20 an ounce at $1,143.50. Silver was down 0.5 per cent at $15.26 an ounce.
"We have the ECB today, and tomorrow the payrolls data in the United States, so this stabilisation is to be expected after the big move we've seen," ABN Amro analyst Georgette Boele said.
"However, we think this is just a pause and we will see more losses ahead, mainly because of the dollar but also because of expectations that interest rates will start to move up."