Gold was about 4 percent below a lifetime high around $1,387 an ounce hit last week, losing its appeal as an alternative investment as the dollar regained strength despite anticipation of further monetary easing by the U.S. central bank. Gold added $2.45 an ounce to $1,326.05 by 0225 GMT after hitting a two-week low

on Thursday as a drop in U.S. initial jobless claims and a stalled euro rally spurred selling. "Next week, I wouldn't look at gold hitting a new high. For next week, I am looking at a neutral to a slight downside bias for gold," said Ong Yi Ling, investment analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore. "The G20 influences the movements of the dollar and currently we are still seeing an inverse relationship between gold versus the d

ollar. I am looking at short-term support for gold at the $1,320 level." U.S. gold futures for December delivery were steady at $1,325.9 an ounce, having fallen as low as $1,318.20 on Thursday. For a graphic of the 24-hour gold technical outlook, see: here Japan's finance minister Yoshihiko Noda said the group of 20 finance and central bank chiefs did not have a specific currency agenda for their two-day meeting, adding that a U.S. proposal to set current account targets was "unrealistic."The U.S. dollar h

eld steady in early Asian dealings on Friday after a volatile session in New York but was seen supported with investors likely to trim short positions on caution ahead of the G20 meeting, which starts on Friday. Purchases by jewelers stirred up the physical market, keeping premiums steady in Singapore at 50 to 70 cents to spot London prices. "We're seeing moderate buying from jewelers and bullion dealers from the Far East. There's also physical gold bar indent from Indonesia," said a dealer in Singapore. "The Indonesians are showing interest to buy, but their buying power is much lower the

se days." Dealers expected purchases from jewelers in top consumer India to pick up because of a recent drop in gold prices ahead of important religious festivals in November. India is in the middle of the festival season, with Dhanteras slated early next month, when jewelers register the highest sales in the year. The festive season peaks with the Diwali festival of lights in November. The world's largest go

ld-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust (GLD.P), said its holdings slipped to 1,298.266 tonnes by October 21 from 1,299.177 tonnes on Oct 20. The holdings hit a record at 1,320.436 tonnes on June 29.