* Gold climbs to new 3-mth high, supported by firm oil
* Traders eye U.S. data for impact on currencies, gold
* Platinum rises 2 pct after strong session in Asia
(Recasts, updates prices, changes dateline, pvs SINGAPORE)
By Jan Harvey
LONDON, July 11 (Reuters) - Gold climbed to a three-month
high in Europe on Friday, supported by firmer oil, while
platinum extended gains made in Asia to rise 2 percent.
Spot gold <XAU=> was at $949.00/950.00 an ounce at 0923 GMT,
up from $944.10/945.30 late in New York on Thursday. Earlier it
touched a session high of $949.10, its strongest since April 17.
"The market still seems very well bid, and we may try higher
later today," said Rory McVeigh, a senior trader at Commerzbank.
"(US data) will be the focus of today's movement."
Gold rallied nearly 2 percent on Thursday, as rising oil
prices pushed the metal through technical stops.
The precious metal tends to move in line with crude, as it
is often bought as a hedge against oil-led inflation. Strength
in oil prices also boosts the appeal of commodities as an asset
class.
Oil is firmer again this morning, extending yesterday's 4
percent gains, amid rising geoplotical worries in Iran and
Nigeria, and on fears over supply disruptions in Brazil.
[]
The other main external driver of gold prices, the dollar,
was steady against the euro on Friday as equity markets ticked
up. Gold moves in the opposite direction to the dollar, as it is
often bought as a currency hedge.
A weaker greenback also makes dollar-priced commodities such
as gold cheaper for holders of other currencies. []
Traders are now eyeing U.S. economic data due out later on
Friday for clues as to the future direction of the currency
markets, and consequently of gold.
SENTIMENT WEAK
The Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary consumer
sentiment indicator for July, due for release at 1355 GMT, is
expected to fall to a fresh 28-year low.
U.S. May trade data and June import and export prices are
also due for release at 1230 GMT.
"The US trade balance probably deteriorated further in May
on rising oil prices," said Dresdner Kleinwort consultant Peter
Fertig in a note. "Our US economists expect a deficit in the
trade balance of $64.3 billion."
"Preliminary July consumer sentiment is predicted to have
fallen further to 55.0, which might be supportive for gold as it
might delay a Fed rate hike," he added.
In demand news, New York's SPDR Gold Trust, the world's
largest exchange-traded fund backed by physical gold, said its
holdings of the precious metal ticked up 0.1 percent to 659.91
tonnes on Thursday.
Meanwhile platinum ticked up, rising 2 percent as signs of
firmer Chinese demand for the metal used in autocatalysts and
ongoing supply fears linked to the South African supply shortage
fuelled buying.
Spot platinum <XPT=> rose to $2,026.50/2,046.50 an ounce
from $1,994.50/2,014.50 late in New York, having earlier hit a
one-week high of $2,035.00 an ounce.
"Strong demand from Asia overnight has seen platinum push
back above $2,000," said James Moore, an analyst at
TheBullionDesk.com.
"Given the strong sentiment seen across the metals, plus
platinum's own extremely tight fundamentals, we would look for
an initial challenge of chart resistance at $2,080 before
pushing above $2,110 to test $2,200/oz," he added.
Among other precious metals, spot palladium <XPD=> rose to
$452.00/460.00 an ounce from $445.00/453.00 an ounce late in New
York, while silver <XAG=> rose to $18.34/18.39 an ounce from
$18.28/18.33 late in New York.
(Reporting by Jan Harvey; Editing by Peter Blackburn)
