* Futures liquidation, profit-taking pressure market
* Euro zone fiscal woes could underpin gold prices
* S. Africa mines minister says country has enough power
* Coming up: U.S. weekly jobless claims report on Thursday
(Updates closing prices, adds details from Reuters Mining
Summit)
By Frank Tang and Jan Harvey
NEW YORK/LONDON, March 10 (Reuters) - Gold hit its lowest
price in nearly two weeks on Wednesday, falling toward $1,100
an ounce on heavy futures liquidation and as safe-haven buying
on Greek sovereign debt worries subsided.
After rising almost $20 last week, gold has already dropped
by $27 this week as traders take profits. Speculators had been
increasing their net long position in gold for four straight
week but they may now be trimming those positions, putting
selling pressure on the yellow metal, traders said.
The latest Commitment of Traders report by the U.S.
Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed net long
noncommercial gold futures positions at 207,372 contracts, up
3.4 percent from the prior week and up 14 percent during the
last four weeks.
"We saw some liquidation on futures again, with more than 1
million ounces being sold," said Christophe Jacot, vice
president of FX and precious metals at EFG Bank.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Reuters Global Mining and Steel summit []
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
Spot gold <XAU=> hit a low of $1,102.85 earlier in the
session, the weakest since Feb. 25. It was at $1,108.15 an
ounce at 3:10 p.m. EST (2010 GMT), against $1,121.15 late in
New York on Tuesday.
U.S. gold futures for April delivery <GCJ0> on the COMEX
division of the NYMEX settled down $14.20, or 1.3 percent, at
$1,108.10 an ounce in heavy trade.
Gold weakened despite a stronger euro <EUR=> after Greece
said in a report it is ahead of schedule with plans to tame its
budget deficit, and there has been no slippage in moves to rein
in spending. []
However, persistent worry over the euro zone's fiscal
health could still lend support, analysts said.
"It looks like there is still some safe-haven money (coming
in)," said Deutsche Bank trader Michael Blumenroth.
Fitch Ratings said on Tuesday it still has a negative
outlook on Portugal's credit rating, which heightened concern
that peripheral euro zone economies may face debt problems
similar to those of Greece. []
"All the worries about the fiscal situation, and how that
is managed, are being read as positive for gold," said Credit
Agricole analyst Robin Bhar.
"That should become a long-standing issue, as people are
concerned about how governments in the euro zone are handling
the whole fiscal situation."
PLATINUM GROUP WEAKENS
Platinum dropped on broad-based metal weakness. Earlier in
the session, the metal rose more than 1 percent to its highest
price in seven weeks due to strong Japanese buying in Asian
trade.
South Africa's mines minister, Susan Shabangu, told the
Reuters Global Mining and Steel Summit in New York that the
country has sufficient power this year and expects to have
sufficient power during the soccer World Cup in June. She said
the blackouts that crippled the mining industry in early 2008
would not be repeated this year. []
Platinum group metals are also being underpinned by rising
investment demand after the launch of platinum- and
palladium-backed exchange-traded products in New York earlier
this year by a U.S. subsidiary of London's ETF Securities.
Both products saw inflows on Tuesday. Holdings of ETFS
Physical Platinum Shares <PPLT.P> rose nearly 10,000 ounces to
289,610 ounces, while those of ETFS Physical Palladium Shares
<PALL.P> climbed nearly 15,000 ounces to 504,511 ounces.
Platinum <XPT=> was at $1,588.50 an ounce against $1,589,
while palladium <XPD=> was at $461 against $465. Spot silver
<XAG=> was at $16.94 an ounce against $17.23.
Close Change Pct 2009 YTD
Chg Close % Chg
US gold <GCJ0> 1108.10 -14.2 -1.3 1096.20 1.1
US silver <SIK0> 17.018 -0.320 -1.8 16.845 1.0
US platinum <PLJ0> 1590.20 -6.70 -0.4 1471.00 8.1
US palladium <PAM0> 464.65 -4.65 -1.0 408.85 13.6
Prices at 3:36 p.m. EST (2036 GMT)
Gold <XAU=> 1105.45 -15.70 -1.4 1096.35 0.8
Silver <XAG=> 16.94 -0.29 -1.7 16.84 0.6
Platinum <XPT=> 1586.00 -3.00 -0.2 1465.50 8.2
Palladium <XPD=> 461.00 -4.000 -0.9 405.50 13.7
Gold Fix <XAUFIX=> 1120.50 -4.00 -0.4 1104 1.5
Silver Fix <XAGFIX=> 17.47 42.00 2.5 16.99 2.8
Platinum Fix <XPTFIX=> 1605.00 9.00 0.6 1466 9.5
Palladium Fix<XPDFIX=> 471.00 2.00 0.4 402 17.2
(Reporting by Frank Tang and Jan Harvey; Editing by Lisa
Shumaker)
