*Gold briefly touches 2-week low of $833 on equities declines
*Gold recovers ground as Gaza strife spurs safe-haven demand
By Risa Maeda
TOKYO, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Gold firmed on Thursday, recovering
from a two-week low as continued worries about conflict in the
Middle East and financial market instability helped spur buying
on dips.
Gold briefly hit a new two-week low of $833 per ounce in
early trading on needs for cash after grim U.S. jobs data renewed
worries about the world's biggest economy and sent equities
sharply lower.
Tokyo's Nikkei share average <> fell more than 2
percent, after U.S. stocks posted their biggest decline in over a
month on the data. []
But the metal has bounced back as continued strife in the
Gaza Strip supports safe-haven buying and unstable global
financial markets prompts buying on dips, analysts said.
As of 0307 GMT, spot gold <XAU=> stood at $845 per ounce, up
0.3 percent from New York's notional close of $842.20. On
Wednesday, gold dropped nearly 3 percent.
"Gold's steep fall yesterday does not warrant a change in its
trend. Gold rather looks directionless for now," said Tatsufumi
Okoshi, a senior economist at Nomura Securities Co's financial
and economic research center.
"Having said that, it will likely stay at the high end of the
recent range given financial market instability and ... as
geopolitical concerns remain," he said.
Gold hit a three-month high near $900 on Dec. 29, when
Israeli air strikes in Gaza pushed up oil prices on fears of
supply disruptions, and has since hovered below that level.
But the dollar's recent rally against the euro has curbed
gains in gold.
The euro was down 0.5 percent at $1.3589 <EUR=> on Thursday,
having touched a one-month low of $1.3312 earlier this week.
Oil prices firmed on Thursday, but stayed below $43 per
barrel after tumbling 12 percent on Wednesday, when a U.S.
government report showed crude inventories rose much more than
expected in the world's top energy consumer. []
COMEX gold futures were firmer in Asia after falling 2.8
percent on Wednesday. U.S. gold futures for February delivery
<GCG9> stood at $846.1 per ounce, up $4.4 or 0.5 percent from
Wednesday's settlement on the COMEX division of the New York
Mercantile Exchange.
The December gold contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange
<0#JAU:> fell 65 yen per gram to 2,534 yen.
Cash platinum <XPT=> edged up to $974 an ounce from New
York's notional close of $972.50.
On Wednesday, it briefly topped the $1,000 mark for the first
time since Oct. 15, possibly marking an end to the technical
correction since late last year's sell-off.
Cash palladium <XPD=> eased to $194 an ounce from $195 and
silver <XAG=> slipped 0.5 percent to $10.96 an ounce.
Precious metals prices at 0017 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover
Spot Gold 843.80 1.60 +0.19 -4.13
Spot Silver 10.96 -0.05 -0.45 -3.18
Spot Platinum 977.50 5.00 +0.51 4.88
Spot Palladium 194.00 -1.00 -0.51 5.15
TOCOM Gold 2534.00 -65.00 -2.50 -1.52 20689
TOCOM Platinum 2917.00 -84.00 -2.80 9.99 7331
TOCOM Silver 324.40 -15.00 -4.42 1.60 211
TOCOM Palladium 594.00 -17.00 -2.78 8.00 157
Euro/Dollar 1.3586
Dollar/Yen 92.73
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except for silver which is in yen
per 10 grams, spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Chris Gallagher)
