Gold recovers from lows

Gold prices steadied in Eur-ope yesterday as a retreat in the dollar took some early selling pressure off the metal, with trading cautious ahead of a meeting between the French and German leaders on the Eurozone economy later in the day. Spot gold was little changed at $1,617.29 (Dh5,939) an ounce at 1110 GMT versus $1,616.98 late in New York on Friday, up from an earlier low of $1,604.44. US gold futures for February delivery were up $1 an ounce at $1,617.90. While confidence in gold's ability to revisit last year's record high above $1,920 an ounce was shaken by a 10 per cent price drop in December, rock-bottom interest rates and concerns over debt levels and growth remain supportive, analysts said. "It's hard to point to any negative factors for gold," Saxo Bank senior analyst Ole Hansen said. "Speculative length can be increased quite a bit as it is relatively low, and the dollar could be positioned for a bit of weakening — euro short positioning rose to another record last week."