VINACHEM

Gold retreated from a six-week high,paring the longest weekly rally since September 2012, asinvestors assessed whether the U.S. Federal Reserve will keepreducing stimulus.

Bullion for immediate delivery fell as much as 0.5 percentto $1,258.36 an ounce, and traded at $1,260.01 by 3:14 p.m. in Singapore. Prices reached $1,266.51 yesterday, the highest sinceDec. 10, as volumes for the benchmark contract on the ShanghaiGold Exchange rose to the most since Jan. 6, when levels reachedan eight-month high. The metal is up 0.5 percent this week for afifth weekly increase.

Gold jumped 2.2 percent yesterday, the most since October,as purchases of previously owned homes in the U.S. and theChicago Federal National Activity Index trailed estimates, whilethe number of Americans continuing to receive jobless benefitsunexpectedly increased. Fed policy makers meet Jan. 28-29 afterdeciding in December to cut monthly bond buying as the economyimproved, helping to halt gold’s 12-year bull run.

“Markets are considering whether the U.S. Federal Reservewill continue to lower its stimulus measures,” Lachlan Shaw, ananalyst at Commonweath Bank of Australia, wrote in an e-mail.“Many expect the committee will decide to further trim itsbond-buying program. We expect gold prices to remain pressuredas expectations mount the Fed will taper stimulus.”

The Federal Open Market Committee will reduce assetpurchases by $10 billion at each meeting to end the program thisyear, according to the median of forecasts by economists in aBloomberg survey.

India Imports

In India, which probably ceded the top consumer rank to China last year as the government restricted imports to containa current account deficit, Finance Minister PalaniappanChidambaram reiterated in a Bloomberg Television interview thatgold imports will be curbed into the next fiscal year. CongressPresident Sonia Gandhi wrote a letter to the commerce ministryseeking lower import duties on bullion, CNBC Awaaz televisionreported yesterday.

Gold for April delivery lost 0.3 percent to $1,258.70 anounce on the Comex in New York. Holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust,the biggest bullion-backed exchange-traded product, fell for asecond day yesterday, contracting 0.7 percent in the biggestone-day decrease since Dec. 23.

Platinum was little changed at $1,456 an ounce, heading fora fifth weekly increase. South Africa’s government will todaymediate talks between union officials and the world’s threebiggest platinum producers as a strike that’s crippling minesenters a second day.

Silver fell 0.1 percent to $20.0137 an ounce, set for thebiggest weekly decline in a month. Palladium added 0.4 percentto $747.60 an ounce, paring the first weekly loss in five weeks.