* Gold slips on firming dollar
* Oil falls to near four-year lows
* Investors await U.S. payrolls data
(Updates prices)
SINGAPORE, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Gold slipped on Thursday as
the dollar gained against the euro and worries about demand
weighed on oil, driving investors away from bullion ahead of
the release of U.S. nonfarm payrolls data later this week.
Fears of a severe global recession have curbed investors'
appetite for risky assets, while recent terror attacks in India
that killed nearly 200 people failed to stir up safe-haven
buying. Gold was 25 percent below March's record of $1,030.80.
"It seems to me that gold has almost been pushed to the
side a little bit by investors at the moment. I suspect
institutional investor interest is probably pretty tepid," said
David Moore, commodities strategist at Commonwealth Bank of
Australia in Sydney.
"Gold hasn't performed as some people thought it might in
the current environment."
Gold <XAU=> was trading at $771.30 an ounce, down $1.30
from New York's notional close, after hitting an intraday high
of $775.35. Gold posted its biggest daily percentage fall in
almost eight weeks on Monday on falling oil and firm dollar.
Oil <CLc1> fell below $46 a barrel to its weakest in nearly
four years as fears of deepening economic woes overshadowed
bullish weekly U.S. oil stocks data. []
Investors awaited the release of U.S. nonfarm payrolls
numbers on Friday, which could set the tone for the dollar
after gains in the U.S. currency sparked selling in bullion.
The euro fell to $1.2690 against the dollar <EUR=>.
"I think the data is going to be very important for broader
commodity markets. How it will affect gold, I don't know, but I
suspect we could be waiting for pretty weak payrolls numbers,"
said a dealer in Sydney.
As investors braced for the payrolls data, the European
Central Bank is seen cutting rates on Thursday, by at least 50
basis points, to 2.75 percent. []
U.S. payrolls probably shed 316,000 jobs in November,
following October's drop of 240,000 jobs, according to
economists polled by Reuters. The unemployment rate is seen
rising to 6.8 percent in November from October's 6.5 percent.
"I guess gold will trade sideways for quite a while. For
the very near-term, I think a move below Tuesday's lows of $761
levels may trigger further sales," said a dealer in Singapore.
"Strong upside resistance will come in around the $800-$810
regions," said the dealer, referring to the 100-day moving
average.
Gold was struggling to sustain gains since falling to a
13-month low of $680.80 in late October. A rebound to a
six-week high around $830 late last month was met by heavy
selling.
Platinum <XPT=> was trading at $788.00 an ounce, down $5.50
from New York's notional close. Platinum has more than halved
since spiking to a lifetime high of $2,290 in March on weaker
gold and oil and recently, dismal car sales.
U.S. Senate Majority leader Harry Reid wants to try to find
a way to avert threatened bankruptcies in the U.S. auto
industry with Detroit Three chief executives readying for a
make-or-break hearing on Thursday on a $34 billion bailout
request. []
More than 60 percent of global platinum use goes to
autocatalysts to clean exhaust fumes.
New York gold futures <GCZ9> added $1.8 an ounce to $772.3
in electronic trade.
Precious metals prices at 0239 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 771.30 -1.30 -0.17 -7.37
Spot Silver 9.59 -0.04 -0.42 -35.07
Spot Platinum 788.00 -5.50 -0.69 -48.16
Spot Palladium 173.00 2.00 +1.17 -52.99
TOCOM Gold 2306.00 -14.00 -0.60 -24.64
17126
TOCOM Platinum 2373.00 -116.00 -4.66 -55.55
10179
TOCOM Silver 283.50 3.00 +1.07 -47.60
135
TOCOM Palladium 527.00 3.00 +0.57 -60.99
56
Euro/Dollar 1.2704
Dollar/Yen 93.30
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
