* Gold bounces from intraday low; equities may weigh
* Coming Up: U.S. initial jobless claims Weekly; 1230 GMT
(Updates prices)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Gold rebounded from lows on
Thursday as bargain hunters resurfaced after prices struggled
to revisit a lifetime high set in June, although firmer
equities were likely to cap gains.
Asian stocks edged up to track a small rally on Wall
Street, while the euro gained after successful European bond
auctions gave investors an excuse to lighten up on their bets,
but worries about financial stability in Europe lingered.
[] []
Spot gold <XAU=> added $2.25 to $1,256.75 an ounce by 0535
GMT, after hitting a low of $1,252.80 an ounce in thin trade.
Bullion had risen as high as $1,262.25 on Wednesday, not far
from a lifetime high around $1,264 hit in June.
"I think sentiment is still bullish right now," said Dick
Poon, manager at Heraeus in Hong Kong. "The market is only
consolidating." Bullion was still on track to test new highs,
he said.
Gold had struck a lifetime high on worries the debt crisis
in Europe was spreading, while recent economic data from the
United States failed to ease worries the economy was slowing.
The U.S. economy has shown "widespread signs" of slowing
over recent weeks, the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday in a
report suggesting that while the recovery has been faltering,
the economy may skirt a second recession. []
Dealers ignored declines in Chinese commodity futures,
saying that bullion was partly driven by wild movements on the
Tokyo Commodity Exchange, especially during the morning
session. <0#JAU:>. The most active contract on the Shanghai
Gold Exchange <0#SHAU:> was barely changed.
Chinese commodity futures prices slid on Thursday in a
widespread sell-off that several market participants linked to
an investigation into trading on the Shanghai rubber market.
After the market opened, futures prices for zinc <0#SZN:>,
copper <0#SCF:>, aluminium <0#SAF:>, soybeans <0#DSA:>, soyoil
<0#DBY:>, soymeal <0#DSM:> and cotton <0#CCF:> all fell. By the
midday break, all the main commodity futures were down by more
than 1 percent. []
U.S. gold futures for December delivery <GCZ0> were steady
at $1,258.2 an ounce. It had risen to $1,264.70, its highest
since June 28, on Wednesday before losing some of the gains to
profit taking. []
"It looks like the market is a bit unstable or a bit mixed.
There's a big drop this morning but then the market surged
again," said a physical dealer in Singapore.
"We are seeing selling from Vietnam but Thai is mixed. I
mean they are both buyers are sellers. Demand from India was
strong yesterday."
Demand in India, the world's largest consumer, rises during
the festive season, beginning with Raksha Bandhan in August and
lasting through November with Dhanteras -- the single-biggest
gold buying day. []
In the energy market, oil pared gains on Thursday to stay
below $75 as Chinese commodity futures tumbled in a widespread
sell-off. [] Precious metals prices at 0535 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 1256.75 2.25 +0.18 14.70
Spot Silver 19.87 -0.01 -0.05 18.06
Spot Platinum 1548.78 -5.22 -0.34 5.57
Spot Palladium 524.50 2.50 +0.48 29.35
TOCOM Gold 3389.00 -2.00 -0.06 3.99
28016
TOCOM Platinum 4205.00 -6.00 -0.14 -4.02
11595
TOCOM Silver 53.70 0.00 +0.00 3.87
395
TOCOM Palladium 1409.00 1.00 +0.07 20.94
124
Euro/Dollar 1.2706
Dollar/Yen 83.63
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Manash Goswami)
