MARKET TALK:

Gold Support Tipped At $1,620/Oz - Analyst

Gold does not technically look good after it broke
below $1,700/oz, says Phillip Futures investment analyst Ong Yi Ling. Ong tips
support for the yellow metal at $1,620/oz, the 200-day moving average. "Till
year-end, gold may be caught in a sideways range, between $1,800/oz on the
upside and $1,600/oz on the downside," says Ong. She notes that gold has been
"acting like a risk asset for many months now and moving alongside
commodities." The analyst says a strong U.S. retail sales reading, scheduled to
be released later in the global trading day, could help influence market
sentiment; "a positive reading could divert investor's interest from the doom
and gloom in Europe and perhaps help risk assets pare some of yesterday's
losses." She expects gold to rally in 2012 toward $2,000/oz. Spot gold is at
$1,654.50/oz, down $10.80 from its previous
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