SINGAPORE, March 4 (Reuters) - Gold prices held steady on
Friday, after falling sharply in the previous session, as
investors watched the unfolding unrest in the Middle East and
North Africa, as well the key U.S. payrolls data for clues of
the health of the economy.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold was little changed at $1,416.44 an ounce
by 0048 GMT.
* U.S. gold futures held steady at $1,417.30.
* The news that the European Central Bank may hike interest
rates in April, far earlier than expected, combined with
Venezuela's proposal to help end the turmoil in Libya, knocked
down gold from a record of $1,440.10 hit on March 2.
* Eyes are on the U.S. non-farm payrolls data, due later in
the day to assess the recovery of the job market.
* Holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust , the world's largest
physically backed exchange-traded fund, fell to 1,210.621
tonnes, their lowest since mid-May last year.
* Holdings in the iShares Silver Trust rose to
two-month high of 10,794.89 tonnes.
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MARKET NEWS
* Investors betting on a big gain in U.S. payrolls pushed
Wall Street to its best one-day rally in three months on
Thursday, but weak volume lingers as a concern for those hoping
for another leg higher.
* Oil prices held steady on Friday, after falling off
2-1/2-year highs on Thursday after Venezuela pitched a plan to
resolve the Libyan crisis.
* An explosive rally in the euro took a breather early in
Asia on Friday ahead of influential U.S. jobs data, but the
single currency is set to stay bid after the European Central
Bank signalled an interest rate hike as early as next month.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
1330 U.S. Employment report Feb 1500
U.S. Factory Orders Feb
PRICES
Precious metals prices 0048 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Volume
Spot Gold 1416.44 0.85 +0.06 -0.21
Spot Silver 34.41 0.24 +0.70 11.50
Spot Platinum 1832.24 8.75 +0.48 3.66
Spot Palladium 810.94 -1.06 -0.13 1.43
TOCOM Gold 3762.00 -3.00 -0.08 0.88 44420
TOCOM Platinum 4923.00 36.00 +0.74 4.83 10363
TOCOM Silver 90.90 0.60 +0.66 12.22 640
TOCOM Palladium 2166.00 7.00 +0.32 3.29 249
COMEX GOLD APR1 1417.30 0.90 +0.06 -0.29 2209
COMEX SILVER MAY1 34.42 0.09 +0.26 11.23 872
Euro/Dollar 1.3950
Dollar/Yen 82.32
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
COMEX gold and silver contracts show the most active months
(Reporting By Rujun Shen; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
Reuters
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