TOKYO, June 8 (Reuters) - Gold prices steadied above $950 per
ounce on Monday after losing 2 percent on the dollar's gain the
previous trading day as optimism about the economy reduced
bullion's safe-haven appeal.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold <XAU=> was steady at $954.45 as of 0007 GMT,
compared with New York's notional close of $955.30 on Friday.
Gold <XAU=> fell to a low of $951.50 an ounce earlier on Monday,
its lowest since May 28.
* U.S. gold futures for August delivery <GCQ9> fell 0.7
percent to $955.60 per ounce, compared with $962.60 an ounce on
the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
* Bullion came under heavy pressure on Friday as the milder
pace of U.S. job losses helped the dollar rally, on track for its
largest weekly gain in nearly two months against a basket of
major currencies. []
* Open interest of COMEX gold futures rose above the 400,000
level, up 5,776 at 401,699 lots as of June 4, a sign that
investment demand among funds and institutional investors is
rising, analysts said.
* The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the
SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, said holdings totalled 1,132.15 tonnes as
of June 5, down 0.35 tonnes from the previous business day.
[]
MARKET NEWS
* The Nikkei opened up 0.63 percent and hit its highest level
in eight months. []
* U.S. stocks ended mixed on Friday as investors paused to
consider conflicting signals in monthly U.S. jobs data, which
showed employers cut 345,000 jobs in May, far less than
economists had forecast, after cutting 504,000 jobs in April. But
the jobless rate rose to 9.4 percent, the highest since July
1983, from 8.9 percent in April.
* On Friday the dollar posted its largest one-day gain
against a basket of currencies in more than five months after the
U.S. jobs news encouraged hopes for an economic recovery. []
* Speculators boosted their holdings of U.S. gold futures,
with noncommercial investors net long on 187,340 contracts of
gold futures in the week to June 2, compared with a net long
177,308 contracts in the week to May 26. []
DATA EVENTS
* The following data is expected on Monday: <ECON>
- Japan economy watchers' survey for May. (0500 GMT)
- Eurogroup finance ministers meeting. (N/A)
- German April industrial orders. (1000 GMT)
- U.S. employment index for May. (1400 GMT)
- UK May BRC retail sales survey. (2301 GMT)
- UK May RICS house price survey. (2301 GMT)
RELATED NEWS
> Gold falls towards $950/oz on dollar rally []
> US job losses slow in May, fueling recovery hope[]
> Commods drop across the board as dollar rises []
> Oil falls after touching 7-month high over $70 []
PRICES
Precious metals prices at 0012
Metal Last Change Pct chg Day ago pct MA 30 RSI
Spot gold $954.40 -$0.90 -0.09% +6.40% $860.10 49
Spot silver $15.26 $0.03 +0.20% +27.38% $11.29 54
Spot plat $1255.00 -$7.00 -0.55% -0.55% $1163.27 69
COMEX gold $957.00 -$5.00 -0.52% -2.51% $935.84 48
TOCOM gold 3,041 13 +0.43% -0.43% 2,932 68
TOCOM plat 4,000 32 +0.81% +0.40% 3,623 82
Currencies
Euro/dlr $1.395 $0.000 +0.04% -0.17%
Dlr/yen 98.80 0.20 +0.20% +0.16%
(Reporting by Chikako Mogi)
