* Gold bounces on bargain hunting, physical buying
* Oil holds near record high, euro dips
* Chinese buy more gold as hedge against inflation
(Updates prices)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, July 4 (Reuters) - Gold rebounded on Friday
after falling 1 percent in New York on firm U.S. dollar as
record high oil offered an excuse to investors to buy the metal
as a hedge against inflation.
Gold <XAU=> was at $933.70/934.50 an ounce, up from
$932.70/934.70 late in New York on Thursday, when it dropped
after payroll data suggested the U.S. job market and economy
are not as dire as many investors had feared.
Gold jumped to its strongest level in more than two months
at $946.50 this week, and gains in ETF holdings <XAUEXT-NYS-TT>
suggested investors regained confidence in gold after volatile
trade in recent weeks, said dealers.
"There's been increased investment in the gold ETFs, and
that's already apparent in the price. I think gold is still at
a level that has been obviously determined by investor
activity," said David Moore, analyst at Commonwealth Bank of
Australia.
"With oil prices still high, I think that would offer some
base levels support for the gold price but a lot would depend
on how the U.S. dollar moves in the next few days," he said.
Dealers pegged key resistance at $950 an ounce.
Oil <CLc1> was steady around $145 a barrel on Friday after
settling at a record the previous day, when it also hit an
all-time intraday high of nearly $146 a barrel beforetrimming
gains on the dollar's rise against the euro.[]
Gold struck record at $1,030.80 in March on record-high
crude oil, which raised fears of inflation and expectations of
more rate cuts in the United States, making the metal more
attractive as an alternative investment.
The euro <EUR=> inched down to as low as 1.5673 before
recovering slightly to $1.5710.
The dollar rose after the U.S. jobs report for June landed
largely as forecast and nowhere close to a scenario feared by
investors, while the European Central Bank president struck a
less aggressive tone on prospects for interest rate hikes.
[]
"There's light physical buying from jewellers as well as
investors in Tokyo but volumes are not that great," said a
dealer in Hong Kong.
"I guess $950 and $955 will be the resistance levels, but
trading may be slow because of the holiday in the U.S." said
the dealer, referring to the U.S. IndependenceDay holiday on
Friday.
In fundamental news, ordinary Chinese are investing more
actively in gold as an alternative hedge against decade-high
inflation, a senior industry executive said. []
Gold futures for August delivery <GCQ8> on the COMEX
division of the New York Mercantile Exchange added $2.1 an
ounce to $935.8.
Spot platinum <XPT=> rose to $2,025.00/2,045.00 an ounce
from $2,017.50/2,037.50 late in New York. Spot palladium <XPD=>
slipped to $459.50/467.50 an ounce from $460.50/468.50 an
ounce.
Silver <XAG=> edged down to $18.18/18.24 an ounce from
$18.21/18.31 late in New York.
The most active Tokyo platinum contract for June 2009
delivery <0#JPL:> on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange ended the
morning session 51 yen per gram lower at 6,879 yen, tracking
declines in New York futures.
Precious metals prices at 0022 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 933.55 0.70 +0.08 12.11
Spot Silver 18.16 -0.04 -0.22 22.95
Spot Platinum 2025.00 7.50 +0.37 33.22
Spot Palladium 459.50 -1.00 -0.22 24.86
TOCOM Gold 3235.00 -12.00 -0.37 5.72
13305
TOCOM Platinum 6879.00 -51.00 -0.74 28.84
13061
TOCOM Silver 630.00 -3.50 -0.55 16.45
621
TOCOM Palladium 1617.00 -14.00 -0.86 19.69
344
Euro/Dollar 1.5712
Dollar/Yen 106.63
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)
