PRECIOUS-Gold tops $1,730/oz as stocks rise, dollar wilts

Hopes for Greek debt deal, German data lifts euro, stocks
Prices set to face resistance near $1,740/oz
Silver outperforms gold, set for 3.5 pct weekly rise (Adds trade comment, updates prices)
By Jan Harvey

Gold prices rose above $1,730 an ounce on Friday as positive German economic data and hopes that Greece's creditors are nearing an agreement to tackle its debt lifted the euro to a three-week high versus the dollar and trimmed losses in stocks.

Trade was expected to be quiet, however, with the U.S. stock market open for only a half-day of business after the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday.


"The dollar is coming off on the back of the German data and hopes for a Greek deal, and this is supporting gold," Andrey Kryuchenkov, analyst with VTB Capital, said.

"Gold is likely to trade sideways, with key resistance at $1,740, but the price will depend on where the euro goes."

Spot gold was up 0.19 percent at $1,732.31 an ounce at 1442 GMT, while U.S. gold futures for December delivery were up $4.30 an ounce at $1,732.50.

The metal has risen more than 1 percent this week, lifted by gains in the euro, which is set for its biggest weekly rise in seven, and worries over the U.S. 'fiscal cliff', a $600 billion package of tax and spending changes set to kick in next year.
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