* Gold holds steady above $930/oz after rising 2 pct
* Firmly underpinned at $900, U.S. jobs data eyed
By Risa Maeda
TOKYO, March 6 (Reuters) - Gold held steady on Friday as
traders sounded out demand above $930 per ounce, after
safe-haven buying on renewed concerns about the global economy
pushed up the yellow metal by more than 2 percent in the
previous session.
Asian stock markets took a hit, with investors jittery
after U.S. stocks fell to 12-year lows on Thursday, following a
warning by General Motors <GM.N> of possible bankruptcy and on
doubts about the health of the U.S. banking system. []
Key U.S. jobs data due later in the day will be eyed to
gauge the state of the world's biggest economy. U.S. non-farm
payrolls are forecast to have shed about 650,000 jobs in
February. []
Spot gold <XAU=> stood at $934.10 an ounce at 0339 GMT, up
0.2 percent from its notional close on Thursday.
Earlier this week, it fell as low as $900.95, a three-week
low, as some investors who thought a string of bad news was
petering out shifted funds away from the yellow metal to other
commodities and battered company shares.
It has been well underpinned above $900 by buying from
risk-averse investors, including those in Asia, traders said.
"Overall, uncertainty is still hanging over us," said Naomi
Suzuki, a senior analyst at SC Asset Management Co.
"Gold has tested the $900-level a few times, but so far in
vain. That proved bearish views over the global economy are
still outweighing optimism."
Gold retained its allure as a hedge against inflation.
Central banks and governments of affected economies are
unlikely to stop supplying money unless there are clear signs
of recovery.
Gold was supported after the European Central Bank cut
interest rates by 50 basis points, as expected. The Bank of
England cut rates by 50 basis points to a historic low of 0.5
percent, and said it would buy assets worth 75 billion pounds
to help the British economy.
"Today's cut in interest rates by the Bank of England (and)
its decision to increase money supply in the banking system ...
will remind investors of the spectre of future inflation and
its eroding effect on wealth," said Marcus Grubb, head of
investment at the World Gold Council.
But investors were not fully ready to buy up gold as money
inflow to gold-backed exchange traded funds (ETFs) has stalled
in the past week.
The world's largest gold-backed ETF, the SPDR Gold Trust
<GLD>, said holdings stood at a record 1,029.29 tonnes as of
March 5, unchanged from Feb. 26, when they first hit that
level.
Precious metals prices at 0327 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 933.75 1.75 +0.19 46.89
Spot Silver 13.28 0.06 +0.45 3.35
Spot Platinum 1064.00 5.50 +0.52 -6.01
Spot Palladium 199.00 3.00 +1.53 -40.06
TOCOM Gold 2957.00 33.00 +1.13 20.94
24333
TOCOM Platinum 3359.00 18.00 +0.54 -21.04
4020
TOCOM Silver 415.00 5.20 +1.27 -15.87
209
TOCOM Palladium 632.00 -7.00 -1.10 -49.64
165
Euro/Dollar 1.2573
Dollar/Yen 98.11
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Additional reporting by Miho Yoshikawa; Editing by Clarence
Fernandez)
