Reply #24: PRECIOUS-Gold regains strength on bargain hunting,silver steadies

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http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/20/markets-precious-idUSL4E7GK0OB20110520

SINGAPORE, May 20 (Reuters) - Gold bounced on Friday as bargain hunters
resurfaced after prices slipped in the previous session, while silver could be
struggling to sustain early gains following a drop in exchange-traded fund
holdings.

Bullion has fallen about 5 percent since rallying to a lifetime high around
$1,575 an ounce in early May, but expectations the U.S. Federal Reserve will
keep monetary policy ultra-loose for a while longer following the release of
weak economic data could polish up gold's safe haven appeal.

Spot gold added $5.76 an ounce to $1,497.36 by 0603 GMT. Silver
barely moved, standing at 35.19 an ounce -- well below a record at $49.51
an ounce in April.

"The long-term uptrend for gold is still intact. If gold moves above the
resistance of $1,500, then I think it could go higher. As the commodity markets
start to stabilise, investment demand for silver could return. It has a strong
positive correlation to gold and is a cheaper alternative," said Ong Yi Ling,
investment analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore.