*Focus on whether U.S. nonfarm payrolls grew or shrank in Jan
*SPDR Gold holdings unchanged since Jan 19 []
By Risa Maeda
TOKYO, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Gold prices steadied on Wednesday
after hitting their highest level in almost two weeks the
previous day, when investors partly factored in expectations of
strong U.S. jobs data later this week.
Spot gold <XAU=> inched down 0.1 percent to $1,113.12 per
ounce by 2346 GMT compared to New York's notional close of
$1,113.95.
Gold hit $1,117.95 on Tuesday, its highest since Jan. 20.
U.S. gold futures for April delivery <GCJ0> were down 0.4
percent at $1,113.90 an ounce after rising $13 on Tuesday on the
COMEX division of NYMEX.
"If the non-farm payrolls data outperforms then I believe
people will be more positive about the U.S. economy and we'll see
more risk-taking," said Wong Eng Soon, an investment analyst at
Phillip Futures Pte in Singapore.
Gold prices are barely moving now as some investors have
already taken more risk on a buildup of expectations for better
payroll figures, resulting in a rally in gold and other
commodities on Tuesday, Wong said.
U.S. economic data to be released on Wednesday, including the
ADP national private-sector employment report, are also awaited
as investors try to ascertain if U.S. nonfarm payrolls grew or
shrank in January.
The payrolls data is due on Friday.
A Reuters poll of economists gave a median estimate of 5,000
jobs added to U.S. nonfarm payrolls in January after a reported
85,000 job losses in December. Forecasts for January ranged from
a loss of 97,000 jobs to growth of 100,000 jobs.
The renewed focus on jobs by President Barrack Obama in his
State of the Union address has made the data even more closely
watched.
In the currency market, the dollar steadied on Wednesday,
halting declines from six-month highs against a basket of
currencies marked on Monday. []
Strong corporate earnings and improving economic data had
encouraged investors to move from the dollar into riskier assets
and currencies where returns are higher.
Reflecting recent weakness in the gold market, holdings of
the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold
Trust <GLD>, have been unchanged for more than two weeks.
Its holdings stood at 1,111.922 tonnes as of Feb. 2,
unchanged since Jan. 19. []
Precious metals prices at 0312 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover
Spot Gold 1113.12 -0.83 -0.07 1.59
Spot Silver 16.66 -0.02 -0.12 -1.01
Spot Platinum 1572.50 -4.00 -0.25 7.19
Spot Palladium 438.75 -0.75 -0.17 8.20
TOCOM Gold 3246.00 17.00 +0.53 -0.40 41306
TOCOM Platinum 4560.00 62.00 +1.38 4.09 13610
TOCOM Silver 49.00 -0.20 -0.41 -5.22 526
TOCOM Palladium 1275.00 26.00 +2.08 9.44 357
Euro/Dollar 1.3958
Dollar/Yen 90.40
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Michael Watson)
