(Updates prices, adds quotes)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, April 4 (Reuters) - Gold dropped on Friday as
early buying subsided ahead of the release of U.S. jobs data
that could offer clues to the direction of the U.S. dollar and
precious metals.
Friday's employment report, expected to show the economy
sheds jobs in March for a third straight month, will be
scrutinised for clues about U.S. interest rate moves. Lower
rates elevates gold's appeal as an alternative investment.
Gold <XAU=> dipped to $901.60/902.40 an ounce from
$903.40/904.20 an ounce late in New York on Thursday, when it
gained more than $5 to track a rally in platinum
Gold hit a two-month low of $872.90 an ounce on Tuesday on
fund selling before staging a modest rebound. It was still 12
percent lower than last month's lifetime high of $1,030.80 and
dealers said jewellers showed buying interest at the lows.
"The price will fluctuate around $900. People hesitate to
take positions. But for the demand for jewellery, people start
to buy little by little," said Yukuji Sonoda, precious metals
analyst at Daichi Commodities in Tokyo.
"The situation in platinum is basically similar to gold.
Somehow, actual buying enters the market at below $2,000. The
price below $2,000 is a good incentive for jewellery makers and
investors to buy."
Spot platinum <XPT=> fell to $1,975/1,995 an ounce from
$1,985/1,995 an ounce, having risen more than 2 percent in New
York on worries that South Africa's state utility could not
meet the electricity demand from precious metals miners.
South Africa's power crisis may last many years unless
there is a sustained drop in electricity demand in Africa's
largest economy, state power utility Eskom [] said this
week. [] Supply worries, caused by mining
disruption in main producer South Africa, sparked speculative
buying and propelled the price to record high of $2,290 an
ounce on March 4.
The dollar inched up up against the yen on optimism that
financial markets may be regaining stability, offsetting
worries somewhat about the U.S. economy before the payrolls
report. []
Gold futures for June delivery <GCM8> on the COMEX division
of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell $3.6 an ounce to
$905.9 an ounce.
"There's light buying on the physical side, but I also see
selling from jewellers who have bought gold around $880.
There's selling from Indonesia," said a physical dealer in
Singapore, referring to Southeast Asia's main buyer.
"But it looks like things have quietened down. Everybody is
waiting for the data," he said.
The most active Tokyo platinum futures <0#JPL:> firmed 6
yen per gram to 6,397 yen.
Silver <XAG=> fell to $17.32/17.37 an ounce from
$17.36/17.41. Spot palladium <XPD=> rose to $438/443 an ounce
from $436/441.
Precious metals prices at 0602 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 901.50 -1.40 -0.16 8.26
Spot Silver 17.32 0.00 +0.00 17.26
Spot Platinum 1975.00 -10.00 -0.50 29.93
Spot Palladium 438.00 2.00 +0.46 19.02
TOCOM Gold 2997.00 0.00 +0.00 -2.06
20257
TOCOM Platinum 6398.00 7.00 +0.11 19.84
10199
TOCOM Silver 575.80 3.30 +0.58 6.43
639
TOCOM Palladium 1486.00 -11.00 -0.73 9.99
1501
Euro/Dollar 1.5668
Dollar/Yen 102.58
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Ben Tan)
