* Gold eases ahead of data but physical buying cushions
falls
* Platinum down after rising 1 percent in New York
(Updates prices, adds activity in physical market)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Gold slipped on weaker oil
prices on Friday and investors may be careful about taking
large positions ahead of the release of non-farm payrolls data
which will offer clues on the direction of the U.S. economy.
But lower prices spurred activity in the physical sector
and light buying from India, the world's largest gold consumer,
suggested jewellers has started stocking up ahead of Hindu
festivals which culminate with Diwali in October, dealers said.
Gold <XAU=> dropped to $909.70/910.70 an ounce from
$913.45/914.65 an ounce late in New York on Thursday, when it
rose more than $6 on a falling U.S. dollar.
"I think the market still has a short-term reprieve on
dollar weakness but really that upward trend has simply slowed
again," said Mark Pervan, senior commodities analyst with ANZ
in Melbourne.
He pegged key support at $900 an ounce, which if broken
could take the price down to $850 -- a level last seen in
mid-June. "I think we are seeing a pullback on the caution seen
in the oil market at the moment," he said.
Gold has struggled to sustain gains since rallying to a
four-month high of $987.75 an ounce in mid-July, driven by
declines in oil and a recovery in the dollar that robbed the
metal of some of its safe haven appeal.
The metal is well below March's record high of $1,030.80.
The euro slipped to $1.5559 <EUR=>. Oil <CLc1> lost 75 cents
to $123.33 a barrel, extending Thursday's losses. A Reuters
poll showed the U.S. economy probably suffered its seventh
consecutive month of job losses in July as companies continued
to cut workers in the face of the worst housing slump since the
Great Depression. []
"There's very good physical demand from Indonesia and
Thailand. India has also bought quite a fair bit. Premiums are
still steady but they may improve as demand picks up," said a
bullion dealer in Singapore.
Premiums for gold bars were unchanged from last week at 60
U.S. cents an ounce to the spot London prices in Singapore
<GOLD/ASIA1>.
Spot platinum <XPT=> fell to $1,720.00/1,740.00 an ounce
from $1,749.50/1,769.50 late in New York. It struck a lifetime
high $2,290 in early March after a power shortage in main
producer South Africa disrupted mining and sparked supply
worries. "At this moment there's no actual demand from the
automobile or jewellery sectors. Nothing," said Yukuji Sonoda,
precious metals analyst at Daiichi Commodities in Tokyo.
"There's only investment demand. That's not so important,"
he said.
Investment accounts for around 2 percent of total demand.
New York gold futures <GCZ8> fell $3.9 to $918.80 an ounce.
The most active Tokyo gold contract for June 2009 delivery
<0#JPL:> on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange fell 28 yen per gram
to 3,168 yen.
Spot palladium <XPD=> fell to $373.00/381.00 an ounce from
$379.50/387.50 late in New York. Silver <XAG=> edged down to
$17.63/17.68 an ounce from $17.71/17.77 late in New York.
Precious metals prices at 0717 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 909.90 -2.95 -0.32 9.27
Spot Silver 17.62 -0.06 -0.34 19.30
Spot Platinum 1717.50 -33.00 -1.89 12.99
Spot Palladium 373.00 -5.00 -1.32 1.36
TOCOM Gold 3169.00 -27.00 -0.84 3.56
31978
TOCOM Platinum 5894.00 -163.00 -2.69 10.40
24146
TOCOM Silver 615.00 0.50 +0.08 13.68
667
TOCOM Palladium 1316.00 -14.00 -1.05 -2.59
2587
Euro/Dollar 1.5574
Dollar/Yen 107.36
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)
