By Miho Yoshikawa
TOKYO, April 17 (Reuters) - Gold steadied on Thursday,
keeping gains made the previous day when record-high oil prices
and the dollar's tumble to all-time lows against the euro helped
to lift the metal's price by more than 2 percent.
Buying appears to have run out of steam for the time being,
however, as traders await the next round of U.S. first-quarter
earnings results in the wake of some mixed outcomes.
Spot gold <XAU=> was at $944.60/945.40 per ounce at 0317 GMT,
little changed from late New York levels of $943.90/944.70 after
earlier rising as high as $946. That was off Wednesday's peak of
$948.90 -- the highest since March 28.
Shuji Sugata, a manager at Mitsubishi Corp Futures and
Securities in Tokyo said gold still had legs to climb, although
it might tread water for now.
"Gold is strong but it's still underperforming relative to
the strength in crude oil prices. In the near-term, we'll see
whether it breaks through $950," he said.
U.S. crude oil futures <CLc1> were at $115.00 a barrel, in
sight of the record high of $115.21 hit earlier, when it was
boosted by a weak dollar and a sharp decline in U.S. gasoline
inventories.
Gold often gets a boost from high oil prices as some
investors look to the metal as an inflation hedge.
Investors in the precious metal, which hit an all-time high
of $1,030.80 on March 17, were also keeping an eye on the dollar,
which held near record lows against the euro.
Gold is often viewed as an alternative to holding the dollar,
and thus the value of gold usually rises when the U.S. currency
falls.
"The market may be cautious about buying gold and other
precious metals strongly ahead of more earning results by U.S.
investment banks this week," said Sugata at Mitsubishi.
The dollar lost further ground against the euro after a sharp
fall in housing starts reinforced expectations U.S. interest
rates will be cut again, while record high inflation backed views
euro zone rates will stand pat.
The euro was at $1.5945, within striking distance of the
record high $1.5980 hit on Wednesday on electronic trading
platform EBS.
The Nikkei share average <> rose around 2 percent on
Thursday as it tracked an overnight rise in U.S. shares after
Intel Corp <INTC.O> and IBM <IBM.N> reported healthy earnings
that eased worries about corporate profitability amid a weak
economy.
JPMorgan Chase & Co <JPM.N> said its quarterly profit fell 50
percent, but the third-largest U.S. bank had less exposure,
relative to its size, to the risky mortgages and complex
securities that have caused major global credit losses.
Investors have been worried that a weak economy would sap
corporate profits.
COMEX gold futures softened in Asia after settling up 1.8
percent in New York. The active U.S. contract for June delivery
<GCM8> on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange
was down 40 cents an ounce at $947.9.
The benchmark February gold contract <0#JAU:> on the Tokyo
Commodity Exchange was up 50 yen a gram, or 1.6 percent, at 3,114
yen at the morning's close.
Platinum <XPT=> rose to $2,033/2,043 an ounce from late New
York levels of $2,015/2,025.
Palladium <XPD=> was up at $459/464, versus $455/460.
Silver <XAG=> climbed to $18.40/18.45 an ounce from
$18.31/18.36 late in New York.
Precious metals prices at 0328 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover
Spot Gold 945.50 0.80 +0.08 13.55
Spot Silver 18.41 0.12 +0.66 24.64
Spot Platinum 2035.00 20.00 +0.99 33.88
Spot Palladium 459.00 4.00 +0.88 24.73
TOCOM Gold 3114.00 50.00 +1.63 1.76 25231
TOCOM Platinum 6535.00 225.00 +3.57 22.40 13740
TOCOM Silver 607.30 16.10 +2.72 12.26 461
TOCOM Palladium 1542.00 32.00 +2.12 14.14 832
Euro/Dollar 1.5943
Dollar/Yen 101.86
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 Chikafumi Hodo)
