(Updates prices, adds activity in physical sector)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, April 11 (Reuters) - Gold steadied on Friday,
holding near its highest in more than a week as investors
waited to see how the dollar would respond to a meeting by the
Group of Seven finance chiefs later in the day.
In the physical sector, dealers noted light selling from
Indonesia as jewellers cashed in on gold's recent gains.
Platinum and silver fell from Thursday's highs, while palladium
matched a three-week high.
Gold <XAU=> was at $925.30/926.10 an ounce, hardly changed
from $925.90/926.70 late in New York. Gold jumped to its
highest since March 31 at $939.40 on Thursday before falling as
oil slipped from record highs and the dollar rebounded.
Gold struck a record of $1,030.80 on March 17 but has since
struggled to sustain the uptrend, with a broad commodities
pullback dragging the price down.
But as fears of inflation linger, gold's appeal as a hedge
has risen, while expectations of further rate cuts in the
United States also makes it an attractive choice for investors
seeking an alternative investment, said analysts.
"The basic tone is very strong," said Yukuji Sonoda,
precious metals analyst at Daiichi Commodities in Tokyo. He
said trade on Friday was muted as investors were waiting for
the outcome of the G7 meeting.
"I personally think gold will go up again to $1,000. Within
six months, $1,100 is possible."
Gold futures for June delivery <GCM8> on the COMEX division
of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell $3.0 an ounce to
$928.8 an ounce.
Metals consultancy GFMS Ltd said this week the factors
supporting prices over the last few months, such as the credit
market crisis, would remain in place and investors would
continue to look at bullion for strong returns. []
The euro firmed to $1.5772 <EUR=> from around $1.5745 in
late U.S. trading on Thursday, but well off a record peak of
$1.5915 hit on electronic trading platform EBS on Thursday.
Premiums for gold bars were steady around 60 U.S cents an
ounce to the spot London prices in Singapore, a centre for
bullion trading in Southeast Asia <GOLD/ASIA1>.
Dealers in Tokyo saw buying interest from the electronic
sector but the purchases were not strong enough to lift gold
bars, which were offered at a discount of 25 U.S. cents an
ounce, unchanged from last week.
"Basically buying from the general public for investment
purposes is not that good. I guess people are watching price
movements at the moment," said a dealer in Tokyo.
Precious metals prices at 0357 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 925.00 -3.40 -0.37 11.08
Spot Silver 17.86 -0.07 -0.39 20.92
Spot Platinum 2010.00 -14.00 -0.69 32.24
Spot Palladium 460.00 1.50 +0.33 25.00
TOCOM Gold 3057.00 12.00 +0.39 -0.10
19718
TOCOM Platinum 6488.00 -11.00 -0.17 21.52
9114
TOCOM Silver 591.70 -4.90 -0.82 9.37
316
TOCOM Palladium 1539.00 21.00 +1.38 13.92
1185
Euro/Dollar 1.5771
Dollar/Yen 101.98
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Michael Urquhart)
