TOKYO, May 21 (Reuters) - Gold was almost flat on Thursday,
taking a breather a day after hitting an eight-week high of more
than $940 per ounce on a rally in oil and the dollar's slide to
its lowest level in nearly five months.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Gold <XAU=> was at $937.00 an ounce at 2359 GMT, up 0.01
percent from its New York notional close of $937.10. []
* U.S. gold futures for June delivery <GCM9> were at $938.30,
down 0.1 percent from their settlement on Wednesday on the COMEX
division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
* The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the
SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, said holdings stood at 1,105.62 tonnes on
Wednesday, unchanged since May 13. []
* Demand for gold in the Middle East fell 26 percent
year-on-year during the first quarter of 2009 as economic
uncertainty and high prices discouraged buyers, according to an
industry report released on Wednesday. []
* Gold jewellery sales in Italy, Europe's top market, fell 18
percent year-on-year to 6.7 tonnes in the first quarter of 2009
but were expected to improve in the next few months, a senior
industry official said. []
* Gold Fields <GFIJ.J>, the world's fourth biggest gold
producer, on Wednesday said authorities had asked it to shut its
Kloof mine in South Africa after workers were killed in separate
seismic events. []
MARKET NEWS
* The dollar fell to a two-month low against the yen on
Thursday, extending a slide made the previous day when optimism
about the economy that reduced safe-haven demand for the
greenback. []
* Oil <CLc1> edged down after it rose more than 3 percent on
Wednesday to reach a six-moth high over $62 a barrel as
government data showed a steep drop in U.s. crude and gasoline
inventories ahead of the summer driving season. []
* Tokyo's Nikkei share average <> fell 1.2 percent. []
* U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday, led by investors selling
financial shares after the Federal Reserve gave a more
pessimistic view on the economy, tempering hope for a quick
recovery. []
DATA EVENTS
- Bank of Japan begins a two-day policy meeting
- U.S. Treasury secretary Geithner testifies (1400 GMT)
* The following data is expected on Thursday: <ECON>
- Euro zone May provisional PMIS (0758 GMT)
- UK April retail sales (0830 GMT)
- UK April CML gross mortgage lending data (0830 GMT)
- Weekly U.S. jobless claims (1230 GMT)
- Philadelphia Fed business activity index for May (1400 GMT)
RELATED NEWS
>US financial system healing;Japan slump deepens []
>Gold companies could see shine in other metals []
>Funds embrace commodities, swelling liquidity []
>Dollar still top currency in Russia reserves []
>Chartists hint at gold momentum; $1,000 possible []
>Supply squeeze, early stock rally boost commodities []
PRICES
Precious metals prices at 0004 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg Day ago pct MA 30 RSI
Spot gold $938.20 $1.10 +0.12% +4.59% $860.10 69
Spot silver $14.22 $0.01 +0.07% +18.70% $11.29 68
Spot plat $1144.00 $2.00 +0.18% +0.57% $1134.63 57
COMEX gold $938.50 $0.60 +0.06% +1.27% $905.56 72
TOCOM gold 2,866 -1 -0.03% -0.10% 2,850 57
TOCOM plat 3,506 -26 -0.74% -0.54% 3,614 51
Currencies
Euro/dlr $1.378 $0.002 +0.12% +1.17%
Dlr/yen 94.51 -0.34 -0.36% -1.56%
Spot prices in $ per ounce and TOCOM gold and platinum futures
in yen per gram
(Reporting by Risa Maeda; Editing by Joseph Radford)
