Reply #16: PRECIOUS-Gold flat; doubt on Europe plans weighs

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http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/10/20/markets-precious-idUKL3E7LK02I20111020

SINGAPORE, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Gold struggled to recover from
the previous session's losses on Thursday, as mounting
skepticism over whether the euro zone will be able to produce a
concrete plan to tackle its debt crisis and a weak U.S. economic
outlook weighed on market sentiment.



FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold was flat at $1,641.29 an ounce by 0031
GMT, headed for its biggest weekly loss in four weeks with
prices down more than 2 percent so far this week.

* U.S. gold GCcv1 edged down 0.2 percent to $1,643.

* Efforts to secure a deal to tackle the euro zone debt
crisis are stalled over methods to increase the firepower of the
region's bailout fund, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on
Wednesday.

* The U.S. economy outlook grew dimmer in September, leading
businesses to be wary of spending and of building up inventories
ahead of the holiday sales season, said the Federal Reserve.


* Exchange-traded commodity products and mutual funds saw
outflows quicken last month as a number of markets suffered some
of the largest losses since the financial crisis, Lipper data
showed on Wednesday.