SINGAPORE, Dec 31 (Reuters) - Spot gold held steady on 
Friday, on course for a 28 percent annual rise and its 
strongest in three years, as it was supported by the weakness 
in the dollar, while investors were expecting a further price 
rally next year.	

 FUNDAMENTALS	

 * Spot gold edged up 0.2 percent to $1,406.15 an 
ounce by 0033 GMT.	

 * U.S. gold futures were little changed at $1,406.9.	

 * Upbeat U.S. data on the jobs market and manufacturing 
sector on Thursday buttressed the view the economy gained 
momentum as the year ended, setting the stage for a stronger 
performance in 2011. 	

 * Holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust , the world's 
largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, fell to 1,280.722 
tonnes by Dec 30, its lowest since early June. 

 * Gold is likely to reach $1,500 an ounce, if not beyond, 
in the next year, traders and analysts said.	

 * Spot silver gained 0.4 percent to $30.56, after
hitting a 30-year high of $30.88 in the previous session.

SINGAPORE, Dec 30 (Reuters) - Spot silver hit a 30-year 
peak on Thursday, buoyed by a weak dollar and strength in base 
metals, while gold held steady below a three-week high hit in 
the previous session supported by good physical demand.	

 The dollar weakened broadly, as traders took falls in U.S. 
bond yields as a cue to sell the greenback. 

 Spot silver hit a 30-year high of $30.72 an ounce, 
before easing slightly to $30.68 by 0340 GMT. U.S. silver 
futures hit $30.79 an ounce, and was trading at $30.71.	

 The strength in base metals, led by copper, helped buoy 
silver and platinum group metals, traders said.	

 Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange 
rallied to a record high of $9,469 a tonne. 

 "Copper prices have been very firm, supporting silver as 
well as palladium," said a Hong Kong-based dealer, adding that 
short-covering in silver also helped push prices higher.	

 He expected silver to trade in the range of $30 to $35 in 
2011, with $40 as a potential target.	

 "But it will depend on performance of gold and other 
metals."	

 Technical analysis showed that spot silver might be due 
for a deep correction as the rise was seen exhausted, 
according to Reuters market analyst Wang Tao.	

 "A rising wedge is contracting to a point on the daily 
chart, with a peak likely to form around $32 per ounce, and 
the RSI indicator shows multiple bearish divergence, which 
signals a bearish reversal soon," said Wang.	

 "A break below a pivotal support at $29 would trigger a 
deep correction to $25."	

 Spot palladium held below a nine-year high of 
$793.50, trading at $788.49.	

 Gold prices were still well supported, after breaking 
above the key $1,400 threshold earlier this week, helped by 
strong physical demand in Asia.	

 Spot gold reached $1,413.75, just below a 
three-week high of $1,413.95 reached on Wednesday, before 
inching down to $1,412.74 an ounce.	

 U.S. gold futures were nearly flat at $1,413.3.	

 In the second-last trading day of the year, investors will 
keep their eye on the weekly initial jobless claims data from 
the United States, to gauge the health of the world's largest 
economy.	

 "If the initial claims data comes positive, it could 
prompt some profit-taking in gold," said Ong Yi Ling, an 
analyst at Phillip Futures. 	

 Premium on gold bars in Hong Kong remained at about $1 
above London prices, dealers said.	

 "But you can only find one or two tonnes here and there, 
not large quantities. Both India and China are still very good 
buyers," said the Hong Kong-based dealer.	

 Precious metals prices at 0340 GMT                                 
  Metal             Last    Change  Pct chg  YTD pct chg  Turnover     
  Spot Gold        1412.74    1.75   +0.12     28.93                   
  Spot Silver        30.68    0.13   +0.43     82.29                   
  Spot Platinum    1761.00    4.51   +0.26     20.04                   
  Spot Palladium    788.49   -1.98   -0.25     94.45                   
 
  Euro/Dollar       1.3229                                             
  Dollar/Yen         81.45                                             
            
	
 (Editing by Himani Sarkar)	 

SINGAPORE, Dec 30 (Reuters) - Spot gold hovered near its 
three-week high and silver geared towards a 30-year peak on 
Thursday, buoyed by a slightly weaker dollar, while investors 
continued to bet on further price rally in precious metals.	

 FUNDAMENTALS	

 * Spot gold edged up 0.2 percent to $1,413.58 an 
ounce by 0033 GMT, near a three-week high of $1,413.95 reached 
on Wednesday.	

 * U.S. gold futures were nearly flat at $1,413.5.	

 * The dollar edged lower against a basket of currencies, 
after declining to a seven-week low against the yen and 
dropping versus the euro on Wednesday. 

 * Holdings in SPDR Gold Trust , the world's largest 
gold-backed exchange-traded fund, remained unchanged at 
1,284.062 tonnes. 

 * Spot silver edged up 0.2 percent to $30.62 an 
ounce, just below the 30-year high of $30.68 hit on Dec 7.