India gold futures steady near record highs

MUMBAI, Nov 18 (Reuters) - India gold futures steadied near their previous day's record highs on Wednesday morning as pressure from a slightly higher rupee was offset by inflationary concerns stoked by rising crude oil, analysts said.

The most-traded December contract MAUZ9 was 0.04 percent lower at 17,015 rupees per 10 grams at 11:02 a.m., after hitting a record high of 17,040 rupees in late session on Tuesday.

Gold may face some resistance at 17,120 rupees, Abhishek Chauhan, technical analyst with Angel Commodities said.

The Indian rupee nudged higher as traders unwound long dollar positions, with the U.S. unit easing against majors. A strong rupee makes the dollar-quoted asset cheaper. [INR/]

Oil rose towards $80 a barrel, supported by an industry report that showed crude stocks in the U.S. fell steeply last week, but limited by U.S. economic data that painted a picture of a slow recovery. See [ID:nSYD391327]

Rising crude oil enhances gold's appeal as an inflation hedge.

Analysts said the outlook is still positive for the yellow metal.

"People are ready to buy at any dip. Gold may distinctly move on the upside till 17,185 later today," said Gnanasekar Thiagarajan, director, Commtrendz Research.

Open interest for December gold on MCX was at 16,880 lots, up from 16,677 a day earlier. Volume on Tuesday was 38.11 kg.