SINGAPORE, March 5 (Reuters) - Gold prices hovered
largely unchanged around $1,710 an ounce on Monday after
suffering their biggest weekly loss in more than two months,
supported by resilient demand for bullion while the strong U.S.
dollar put off some investors.	
    Spot gold lost nearly 4 percent last week, after U.S.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke disappointed the market by
omitting any reference to further monetary easing in a
congressional testimony. 	
    Prices have since rebounded and found solid support at the
$1,700 level, as investors remain confident in gold's appeal as
real interest rates remain low and inflation remains a
longer-term concern.	
    "There isn't much room on the downside for gold, because the
sharp fall last week was an over-reaction to an unfulfilled
expectation," said Hou Xinqiang, an analyst at Jinrui Futures in
the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen.	
    But Hou said gold's short-term technicals might have
weakened after several recent attempts to breach the key
resistance at $1,800 failed.	
    "We are likely to see gold seesaw in the $1,700 and $1,800
range in the short term, as investors wait for a new stimulant,"
Hou added.	
    Spot gold was little changed at $1,712.79 an ounce by
0331 GMT. U.S. gold edged up 0.3 percent to $1,714.20.	
    Technical analysis suggested gold could rebound to $1,728 an
ounce during the day, said Reuters market analyst Wang Tao.
 	
    The strength in the U.S. dollar weighed on the
sentiment of dollar-priced commodities, after the second
injection of three-year cheap funds by the European Central Bank
last week and a surprise policy easing by the Bank of Japan a
few weeks ago pressured the euro and yen. 	
    Economists believe that the ECB will keep interest rates at
1.0 percent until deep into 2013 on concerns over high oil
prices and the impact of the huge cash boost. 	
    Current prices were still attractive to buyers of physical
gold in Asia, although the pace of purchasing has slowed from
last week's buying frenzy when prices fell below $1,700.	
    "The $1,710 level is still attractive for physical buyers,"
said a Singapore-based dealer, "Thailand is still buying and
Indonesia may come in later as well."	
    Money managers, including hedge funds and other large
speculators, raised their bullish bets in U.S. gold futures and
options to the highest level in five month in the week of Feb.
28, before prices corrected sharply. 	
    	

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