(Updates prices)
* British lawmakers vote on whether to delay Brexit later inday
* Silver falls for first time in five sessionsBy Sumita LayekMarch 14 (Reuters) - Gold fell on Thursday, breaking belowkey technical support at $1,300, as the dollar edged up afterBritish lawmakers voted against a no-deal Brexit, while gains inEuropean stocks further dented bullion's allure.
Spot gold was down 1 percent at $1,296.12 per ounceas of 1300 GMT, retreating from $1,311.07 hit on Wednesday, itshighest since March 1.
U.S. gold futures also dipped 0.8 percent, to$1,298.30 an ounce."It is a combination of factors that have weighed on gold;weak Chinese data that is weighing on industrial demand for themetal, risk-on sentiment, rebounding yields, a higher dollar andstronger UK stocks," said Forex.com analyst Fawad Razaqzada. Growth in China's industrial output fell to a 17-year low inthe first two months of the year, pointing to further weaknessin the world's second-biggest economy that is likely to triggermore support measures from Beijing. European shares rallied to five-month highs after Britain'sparliament removed a key source of uncertainty by rejecting ano-deal Brexit, while the dollar gained against a basketof currencies.British lawmakers on Wednesday rejected leaving the EuropeanUnion without a deal and paved the way for a vote that coulddelay Brexit until at least the end of June. Britain's parliament was due to vote later in the day onwhether to delay Brexit beyond March 29. "Participants on the gold market appear jaded by the Brexitissue and fed up with the whole business," Commerzbank analystssaid in a note.On the flip side, gold prices have gained about 13 percentsince touching over 1-1/2 year lows in August last year, withrecent gains driven by the U.S. Federal Reserve's patient stanceon monetary policy and escalating worries over a global economicslowdown.
Lower interest rates tend to pressure the dollar andincrease investor interest in gold, while higher yields reducebullion's appeal.
Modest inflation figures reinforced views that the Fed wouldbe patient on future interest rate hikes, going into the centralbank's meeting next week. "I am positive on gold in the near term because centralbanks recently have turned more dovish than expected, interestrates are going to stay low for longer and there is potentialfor the dollar to be weaker," Forex.com's Razaqzada said.Among other precious metals, palladium was down 0.4percent at $1,549.49 per ounce, while platinum dipped 1.2percent to $827.49 per ounce.
Silver slipped for the first time in five sessionsand was down 1.4 percent at $15.23 per ounce. (Reporting by Sumita Layek in Bengaluru; Editing by CatherineEvans and David Evans)
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