Gold steady near lowest in a week on firm dollar

Gold steadied near its lowest in more than a week on Thursday, pressured by a firmer dollar and uncertainty over the timing of a US Federal Reserve interest rate hike.

Spot gold was broadly steady at $1,167.20 an ounce by 1204 GMT, failing to recover losses from the previous session.

The metal slipped to $1,163.50 a day earlier, its lowest level since October 13, before regaining some ground to close 0.8 percent lower.

Prices on Thursday were pressured by a stronger dollar, which weighs on gold by making the metal more expensive for holders of other currencies.

"The overall sentiment towards the dollar is improving somewhat," said Georgette Boele, FX and commodity strategist at ABN AMRO.

The dollar has recently come off seven-week lows, helped by a spike in buying as investors sought safety from emerging market currencies and commodity-linked assets.

The gold market was further subdued on Thursday ahead of U.S. economic data. Initial jobless claims in the world's top economy are expected to rise to 265,000, from 255,000 the previous week.

If the figures are in line with forecasts, they could bolster hopes that the U.S. Federal Reserve will wait until 2016 to hike rates.

Gold was pressured to 5-1/2 year lows earlier this year by expectations that the U.S. central bank will raise interest rates this year, potentially lifting the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.

Yet market expectations for a tightening of U.S. monetary policy have shifted to next year in recent weeks on sluggish U.S. data and concerns about the global economy.

"The market is not really expecting a hike anymore this year," Boele said. "They have almost completely priced it out now."

Sentiment was dampened by technicals on Thursday, as gold drifted away from the 200-day moving average around $1,175 per ounce. The metal had held near the long-term resistance level for six straight sessions, after last week breaking through it for the first time since May.

Gold is expected to keep edging down into next year. Goldman Sachs estimates prices at $1,100 in three months, $1,050 in six months and $1,000 in 12 months.

Silver was up 0.5 percent at $15.76 an ounce, platinum was down 0.1 percent at $998.50 an ounce and palladium was down 0.3 percent at $670.15 per ounce.

China imported 338 tonnes of silver in September, up 39 percent year-on-year, data showed on Wednesday. Imports in the first nine months of the year rose 21.6 percent from the same period last year.

• Gold and Forex