PRECIOUS-Gold inches lower as investors seek clarity on virus severity

(Updates prices)
* China gears up for Lunar New Year celebrations
* Gold may retrace range of $1,551-$1,554/oz- technicals
* Silver set to post biggest weekly decline since
early-December
* Palladium, platinum on track to post worst week in five

By Sumita Layek
Jan 24 (Reuters) - Gold edged lower on Friday as investors
sought details on the severity of the China virus after the
World Health Organisation stopped short of announcing the
outbreak as a global emergency.
Spot gold XAU= fell 0.2% to $1,559.28 per ounce by 0748
GMT, but was on track to gain 0.2% for the week. U.S. gold
futures GCv1 slipped 0.4% to $1,559.30.
"There is not enough information out there in the street yet
to be sure that we have a negative situation on our hand and
that it would require a move into havens," said Jeffrey Halley,
senior market analyst, OANDA.
"It is also the eve of the Chinese New Year, so mostly it's
just muted activity ahead of the holidays across Asia, with
rising equities, earnings and stable U.S. data weighing on
gold."
Asian shares inched higher following the WHO statement on
Thursday that the new China virus does not yet constitute an
international emergency. MKTS/GLOB
However, investors remained concerned about the spread of
the virus ahead of the Lunar New Year, a peak period of travel
and gold demand in the region.
Data on Thursday showed, the number of Americans filing for
unemployment benefits increased less than expected last week,
suggesting the labour market continues to tighten. Further weighing on bullion, the dollar .DXY against a
basket of currencies, hovered near a month high hit in the
previous session after the European Central Bank kept interest
rates steady on Thursday. USD/ Investors are now focused on the U.S. Federal Reserve's
first meeting of the year scheduled on Jan. 28-29.
"With a low interest rate environment, geopolitical risks
and uncertainties such as U.S. President's impeachment, the
conditions are still quite conducive to further upside in gold,"
ANZ analyst Daniel Hynes said. Spot gold may retrace into a range of $1,551 to $1,554 per
ounce, said Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao. TECH/C
Holdings of the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded
fund, SPDR Gold Trust GLD , rose 0.2% to 900.58 tonnes on
Thursday. GOL/ETF
Elsewhere, palladium XPD= dipped 0.8% to $2,441.04 an
ounce, and was on track to register its worst week in five,
falling about 1.6%.
Silver XAG= shed 0.1% to $17.77 and was set to post its
biggest weekly decline since early-December at 1.2%. Platinum
XPT= rose 0.2% to $1,003.53, but was down 1.4% for the week,
its worst since the week ended Dec. 20.