TOKYO, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Gold prices eased on Friday as a
firm dollar dampened demand from investors, who were also
cautious about trading ahead of key U.S. jobs data due later in
the day.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold <XAU=> eased 0.3 percent to $1,127.75 per ounce,
compared to New York's notional close of $1,131.40 per ounce.
Prices climbed 4 percent in the first three trading sessions of
2010 to a three-week high of $1,140.20, but struggled to extend
gains as the greenback recovered.
* U.S. gold futures for February delivery <GCG0> fell 0.5
percent to $1,127.90 per ounce, compared to $1,133.70 an ounce on
the COMEX division of the NYMEX.
* Platinum and palladium hit multi-month highs, after
confirmation that the first U.S. platinum- and palladium-backed
exchange-traded funds (ETFs) will be launched on Friday.
* The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR
Gold Trust <GLD>, said its holdings fell to 1,123.503 tonnes as
of Jan. 7, down 0.366 tonnes from the pervious business day. The
holdings are slightly below a record high of 1,134.03 tonnes set
on June 1. []
MARKET NEWS
* The Dow and the S&P 500 rose on Thursday after Bank of
America <BAC.N> and General Electric <GE.N> rallied on positive
broker comments, but investors were cautious a day before the
nonfarm payrolls data. []
* The dollar was broadly firmer on Friday as growing
expectations for an upbeat jobs report helped it hit a fresh
four-month high against a struggling yen. []
DATA EVENTS
* The following data is expected on Friday: <ECON>
- Japan Nov coincident and leading indicators. (0500 GMT)
- German Nov trade balance. (0700 GMT)
- Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard
speaks in Shanghai, China. (0730 GMT)
- UK Dec producer price index. (0930 GMT)
- Euro zone third quarter GDP. (1000 GMT)
- Euro zone Nov unemployment. (1000 GMT)
- German Nov total industrial production. (1100 GMT)
- U.S. Dec employment report. (1330 GMT)
- U.S. Nov wholesale inventories. (1500 GMT)
- Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Eric Rosengren
speaks. (1515 GMT)
- Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Jeffrey Lacker
speaks. (1835 GMT)
- U.S. Nov consumer credit. (2000 GMT)
RELATED NEWS
>Gold retreats, PGMs hit highs on ETF news []
>Copper ends down on China concerns, US payrolls[]
>Fed officials see inflation risks, hope on jobs[]
>Soy dives on China move, fund flow offset []
>US platinum, palladium ETFs set to trade Friday[]
PRICES
Precious metals prices at 2348 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg Day ago pct MA 30 RSI
Spot gold $1127.35 -$4.05 -0.36% -2.64% $1129.13 59
Spot silver $18.09 -$0.13 -0.71% -0.50% $17.68 69
Spot plat $1547.00 -$7.50 -0.48% -0.13% $1460.33 77
COMEX gold $1129.50 -$3.30 -0.29% -0.68% $1138.06 57
TOCOM gold 3,398 29 +0.86% +1.77% 3,296 74
TOCOM plat 4,637 25 +0.54% +1.87% 4,253 91
Currencies
Euro/dlr $1.432 $0.000 +0.01% -0.67%
Dlr/yen 93.40 0.09 +0.10% +1.15%
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Reporting by Chikako Mogi)
