SINGAPORE, March 11 (Reuters) - Gold held steady on Friday above $1,413 an
ounce after reports of police firing on protesters in Saudi Arabia ignited fears
of further Middle East unrest, but the metal was on track for its biggest weekly
decline since late January, down more than $30 an ounce from a record high hit
at the start of the week.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold added 76 cents to $1,413.35 by 0049 GMT, off a record
high of $1,444.40 an ounce on Monday.
* U.S. gold futures for April was also steady at $1,413.2 an ounce.
The contract hit record at $1,445.70 on Monday.
* Saudi police fired in the air to disperse protesting Shi'ites and three
people were injured on the eve of a day of protests called for Friday by
activists using the Internet.
* Protests were planned in other Gulf countries such as Yemen, Kuwait and
Bahrain. The time after Friday prayers has proved to be crucial in popular
uprisings that have brought down Tunisian and Egyptian rulers who once seemed
invulnerable.
MARKET NEWS
* Japan's Nikkei average fell on Friday after U.S. stocks tumbled on
concerns about the global economy and unrest in Saudi Arabia.
* The euro stayed on the backfoot early in Asia on Friday after having
suffered its biggest one-day fall against the dollar in a month, and further
losses may loom if a euro zone summit fails to soothe market nerves on sovereign
debt.
* Oil recouped most of its deep losses in late trade on Thursday after
reports of police firing on protesters in Saudi Arabia revived fears of further
unrest in the world's top exporter.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0200 China CPI yy Feb 2011
0200 China PPI yy Feb 2011
1330 U.S. Retail Sales Feb
1455 U.S. U. Mich sentiment March-pre
China Industrial output yy Jan 2011
China Retail sales yy Jan 2011
China Urban investment(ytd)yy Jan 2011
:: OPEC OPEC Monthly Report Mar
Precious metals prices 0049 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover
Spot Gold 1413.35 0.76 +0.05 -0.43
Spot Silver 35.31 0.06 +0.17 14.42
Spot Platinum 1759.49 -0.75 -0.04 -0.45
Spot Palladium 763.97 -1.53 -0.20 -4.44
TOCOM Gold 3778.00 -41.00 -1.07 1.31 33790
TOCOM Platinum 4763.00 -109.00 -2.24 1.43 12075
TOCOM Silver 93.60 -1.90 -1.99 15.56 1169
TOCOM Palladium 2053.00 -31.00 -1.49 -2.10 383
Euro/Dollar 1.3812
Dollar/Yen 82.90
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Reporting by Lewa Pardomuan; Editing by Ed Lane)
Reuters Terminal users can see related news and prices by
double clicking on the codes in brackets:
- All precious metals headlines
- Precious metals market reports
- Daily fixing headlines
- Technical analysis
- Indian gold reports
- European gold prices <0#PREC>
- London interbank gold forward rates <0#GOFO=>
- London silver forwards
- Gold lease rates <0#LGLR=>
- London Bullion Market Association
- New York Comex gold <0#GC:> and silver <0#SI:>
- New York platinum <0#PL:> and palladium <0#PA:>
- Asian gold prices <0#PREC>
- Australian precious metals prices <0#AUPREC=>
- Shanghai Gold Exchange prices
- Hong Kong gold exchange prices
- Hong Kong bullion prices
- Indian bullion prices <0#PREC-IN>
- Japanese producer prices
For Related News and other topics, double click on one of these
codes:
SPEED GUIDES
