* Gold holds near NY levels in thin trade
* Coming up - U.S. Initial jobless claims weekly, 1230 GMT
(Updates prices, adds quotes)
SINGAPORE, April 1 (Reuters) - Gold was steady near its
highest level in two weeks on Thursday due to a firmer euro and
purchases from jewellers, but volume was thin ahead of a long
Easter holiday break.
Bullion ended the first quarter more than a percent higher
on buying driven by volatile currencies, firm stock markets and
oil as well as euro zone debt but it has struggled to sustain
gains since hitting record above $1,200 an ounce last December.
Gold hit an intraday high of $1,115.10 an ounce, not far
from Wednesday's near two-week peak of $1,117.90, before easing
slightly after the release of China's PMI data which ignited
some concerns about a monetary tightening. []
By 0237 GMT, spot gold <XAU=> was at $1,112.90 an ounce,
barely moved from New York's notional close on Wednesday.
Technically, gold was below the 100-day moving average but
hovered above the closely watched 50-day moving average.
"Volume is light so it's easy to push up the market. The
dollar seems to be a bit weaker because the Greek problem has
eased a bit," said Ronald Leung, director of Lee Cheong Gold
Dealer in Hong Kong, referring to the Greek debt crisis.
"I think we can say there will be some resistance ahead at
$1,125 to $1,130," he added.
U.S. gold futures for June delivery <GCM0> hardly changed
at $1,103.7 ounce. It ended 1 percent higher on Wednesday as
the dollar slipped against the euro after an ADP report showed
a surprising decline in U.S. private sector jobs in March.
Bullion markets in Singapore, Indonesia, India, Malaysia
and Australia will be closed for Good Friday but Japan is open
and investors will be waiting for U.S. non-farm payrolls that
could set the tone for currencies.
Analysts are expecting the government payrolls report on
Friday to show the economy added 190,000 jobs in March, albeit
aided by temporary government hiring for the 2010 U.S. Census.
The euro <EUR=> gained in early trade on Thursday, rising
to $1.3517, from $1.3510 late on Wednesday, but it remained
vulnerable to sovereign risk festering in the background.
[]
"There's a bit of buying and selling in the physical side
but there's not much going on ahead of the Easter holiday,"
said a dealer in Hong Kong. "Gold follows currencies after the
euro rebounded last night," he added.
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR
Gold Trust <GLD>, said its holdings stood at 1,129.823 tonnes
as of April 1, unchanged from the previous business day.
[]
Silver <XAG=> and platinum <XPT=> held near Wednesday's
high, while palladium <XPD=> was within sight of its strongest
level in two years.
Palladium and platinum prices began to rally after ETF
Securities Ltd launched the first U.S. PGM exchange traded
funds in early January, which now have about 900,000 ounces of
the combined metals.
Japan's Nikkei average hit an 18-month high on Thursday,
with resource shares such as Mitsui & Co Ltd <8031.T> gaining
on a rise in commodity prices. []
Precious metals prices at 0237 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 1112.90 0.10 +0.01 1.57
Spot Silver 17.49 0.03 +0.17 3.92
Spot Platinum 1638.50 -3.00 -0.18 11.69
Spot Palladium 478.25 0.75 +0.16 17.94
TOCOM Gold 3352.00 22.00 +0.66 2.85 33736
TOCOM Platinum 4913.00 18.00 +0.37 12.14 14681
TOCOM Silver 53.00 0.40 +0.76 2.51 642
TOCOM Palladium 1433.00 18.00 +1.27 23.00 509
Euro/Dollar 1.3504
Dollar/Yen 93.39
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Reporting by Lewa Pardomuan; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
