(Recasts lead, updates prices)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, April 1 (Reuters) - Gold gave up early gains on
Tuesday as the dollar bounced against major currencies, and the
metal could be stuck in a range ahead of this week's U.S.
economic data.
Gold <XAU=> hit a high of $920.60 an ounce on bargain
hunting. It later slipped to $914.00/914.80 an ounce, down from
$916.20/917.00 late in New York on Monday, when it dropped more
than 2 percent, tracking weaker crude oil <CLc1>.
"Although the long-term trend in gold remains in place, we
believe that we are in a highly volatile period, hinting that
the short-term trend is still very unclear for precious
metals," said Pradeep Unni, an analyst at Vision Commodities in
Dubai.
"This week, the market would focus on a barrage of economic
data that could provide more evidence of a recession in the
U.S. economy."
Gold struck a record $1,030.80 an ounce on March 17 but has
since struggled, with a sell-off in commodities pushing the
price down to a one-month low around $904 a few days later.
Record high oil prices and expectations of further interest
rate cuts in the United States had propelled bullion to its
record high.
"It may take some weeks and even months before we can see
$1,000 again. Basically, we are waiting for the funds to
reallocate their assets again. There's no buying signal right
now," said a dealer in Singapore.
"My own take is $905 will be the support. If it is
breached, there will be a lot of stop-loss orders. I think this
consoli`ation phase will last for weeks," said the dealer, who
saw resistance at $935 an ounce.
After posting its biggest quarterly loss in four years, the
dollar edged up against the euro ahead of a series of economic
data that may offer more clues on the health of the U.S.
economy, plus testimony from the Federal Reserve chief later
this week. []
On Tuesday, the Institute for Supply Management will report
on U.S. manufacturing conditions, with a median forecast of a
reading of 47.5, down from 48.3 in February.
Jobs data on Friday is expected to show U.S. employers cut
payrolls in March for the third straight month.
Gold futures for June delivery <GCM8> on the COMEX division
of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell $2.7 an ounce to
$918.8.
Spot platinum <XPT=> dropped more than 3 percent to hit a
low of $1,940 an ounce before rebounding to $1,945/1,955 an
ounce, still down from $2,005/2,025 an ounce in New York.
But dealers said the metal was still supported by fears of
a power crisis disrupting mining in main producer South Africa.
"Supply constraints in South Africa and robust demand from
the automotive sector were pushing the market for platinum
group metals into "deep structural deficit", brokerage Goldman
Sachs JB Were said in a research note to clients.
The most active Tokyo platinum futures <0#JPL:> fell 271
yen per gram lower to 6,103 yen, reflecting weakness in the
cash market.
Silver <XAG=> fell to $17.11/17.16 an ounce from
$17.27/17.32 an ounce. Spot palladium <XPD=> fell to $429/434
an ounce from $438/443 an ounce.
Precious metals prices at 0534 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 914.00 -1.30 -0.14 9.76
Spot Silver 17.10 -0.11 -0.64 15.78
Spot Platinum 1945.00 -60.00 -2.99 27.96
Spot Palladium 429.00 -9.00 -2.05 16.58
TOCOM Gold 2959.00 -67.00 -2.21 -3.30
49313
TOCOM Platinum 6114.00 -260.00 -4.08 14.52
22378
TOCOM Silver 554.10 -25.80 -4.45 2.42
1357
TOCOM Palladium 1417.00 -50.00 -3.41 4.89
3225
Euro/Dollar 1.5738
Dollar/Yen 99.78
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 James Regan in Sydney)
(Editing by Ben Tan)
