* Gold ticks higher near record high; PGMs firm
* Coming Up: Personal Income Aug; 1230 GMT
(Updates prices)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Gold ticked up on Friday and
held near of a lifetime high, but improving U.S. and China
data, which suggested growing global economic strength, could
curb gains.
China's manufacturing sector gathered momentum in
September, handily beating market forecasts and providing
further evidence that the economy is pulling smoothly out of a
second-quarter slowdown. []
Silver <XAG=> held near a 30-year high, platinum <XPT=>
rose to a four-month high to track gains on TOCOM platinum
futures <0#JPL:> while industrial demand helped sister metal
palladium <XPD=> stayed near its strongest level since early
2008.
Spot gold <XAU=> added $4.70 an ounce to $1,309.95 by 0503
GMT after hitting a record around $1,315 on Thursday, racking
up its eighth consecutive quarterly gain as the U.S. Federal
Reserve appeared ready to pump more cash in the struggling
economy.
"I guess speculation will still be rife as to the state of
the U.S. economy. The need or not for a QE2 (second round of
quantitative easing) from the Fed," said Darren Heatchcote,
head of trading at Investec Australia in Sydney.
"I think we can expect (gold) to remain volatile. Its
movement has been determined by the U.S. dollar at the moment."
But Thursday's data showed new U.S. jobless claims fell
last week, regional manufacturing grew faster than expected and
consumer spending was slightly stronger than expected earlier
in the year, injecting a little caution about the prospects for
more quantitative easing from the Fed. []
"If it stays above $1,305, I think the more medium-term
target could be sort of $1,345," said Heathcote of Investec,
who pegged downside target around $1,290s.
U.S. gold futures for December delivery <GCZ0> rose $1.6 an
ounce to $1,311.2 an ounce, having struck a record at $1,317.50
on Thursday.
The euro edged up towards a five-month high on the U.S.
dollar on Friday and the Australian dollar gained after upbeat
Chinese data encouraged a little risk-taking in the
higher-yielding currency ahead of U.S. indicators. []
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR
Gold Trust <GLD.P>, said its holdings eased to 1,304.776 tonnes
by Sept 30 from 1,305.688 tonnes on Sept 28. The holdings hit a
record at 1,320.436 tonnes on June 29. []
The physical sector noted selling from Indonesia and
bargain hunting from Thai gold consumers, while dealers in
Tokyo saw a bit of activity in Platinum Group Metals.
Higher gold prices widened the discounts for gold bars in
Tokyo to 50 cents below the spot London price from 25 cents
last week. <GOLD/ASIA1>. China's financial markets are closed
for a week from Oct. 1 to 7 for the National Day holiday.
"There's a bit buying on TOCOM platinum, that's why spot
price is increasing. But I don't see demand the industrial
sector because the price is too high anyway," said a dealer in
Tokyo.
"There's a bit of buying for palladium in Japan and also
the other parts of Asia. That demand comes from the auto and
dental industries."
Platinum and palladium are used in jewellery, autocatalysts
and also in dentistry.
In other markets, The Nikkei pared gains sharply on Friday,
weighed down by large-lot selling of futures and declines in
banking shares, while oil rose above $80 a barrel, staying at a
seven-week high. [] []
Precious metals prices at 0503 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 1309.95 4.70 +0.36 19.55
Spot Silver 21.86 0.16 +0.74 29.89
Spot Platinum 1663.00 11.85 +0.72 13.36
Spot Palladium 570.00 6.07 +1.08 40.57
TOCOM Gold 3523.00 4.00 +0.11 8.10
28849
TOCOM Platinum 4490.00 75.00 +1.70 2.49
12713
TOCOM Silver 58.80 0.10 +0.17 13.73
656
TOCOM Palladium 1535.00 32.00 +2.13 31.76
433
Euro/Dollar 1.3663
Dollar/Yen 83.45
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Ed Lane)
(lewa.pardomuan@thomson reuters.com; +65 6870 3834; Reuters
Messaging: lewa.pardomuan.reuters.com@reuters.net))
