TOKYO, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Gold prices steadied above
three-month lows on Friday after posting their biggest one-day
loss since 2008 the day before, with investors wary of taking
risks amid mounting sovereign debt fears in Europe.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold <XAU=> inched up 0.2 percent to $1,064.30 per
ounce, compared with New York's notional close of $1,062.60. Spot
gold hit a low of $1,059.10 an ounce on Thursday, the weakest
since Nov. 3.
* Spot bullion's 4.2 percent decline on Thursday was its
biggest one-day percentage loss since Dec. 1, 2008, when it
tumbled 5.6 percent, Reuters data showed.
* U.S. gold futures for April delivery <GCJ0> were also up
0.2 percent, at $1,065.10 per ounce, compared with $1,063.00 on
the COMEX division of NYMEX.
* Other precious metals fell on Thursday. Silver slid nearly
7 percent to its lowest since September, platinum dropped more
than 4 percent and palladium fell 6 percent.
* The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR
Gold Trust <GLD>, said its holdings fell 0.5 percent to 1,104.550
tonnes as of Feb. 4, down 5.789 tonnes from the previous business
day. The holdings fell for a second straight day. []
* The world's largest silver-backed exchange-traded fund, the
iShares Silver Trust <SLV>, said its silver holdings stood at
9,351.77 tonnes as of Feb. 4, down 0.04 percent or 4.21 tonnes
from the previous business day. []
MARKET NEWS
* Japan's Nikkei stock average was down 1.8 percent. []
* The Dow briefly fell below the crucial 10,000 mark on
Thursday as stocks suffered their worst losses in more than nine
months. Escalating sovereign debt problems in Europe and an
unexpected rise in jobless claims put investors on the defensive
just ahead of Friday's crucial payrolls report. []
* The dollar index <.DXY> surged past 80 for the first time
since mid-July 2009 on Friday as a sell-off in the euro gathered
pace on growing investor anxiety about sovereign debt in Europe.
The euro plunged to a more than eight-month low against the
dollar the day before when European Central Bank President
Jean-Claude Trichet predicted many members in the bloc will have
large, sharply rising fiscal imbalances. []
* Strength in the U.S. dollar makes dollar-priced commodities
more expensive for holders of other currencies.
DATA EVENTS
* The following data is expected on Friday: <ECON>
- German total industrial production for December. (1100 GMT)
- U.S. non-farm payrolls for January. (1330 GMT)
- ECRI inflation for January. (1440 GMT)
- ECRI weekly index. (1530 GMT)
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PRICES
Precious metals prices at 0005 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg 2 Day chg MA 30 RSI
Spot gold $1064.50 $1.90 +0.18% -8.07% $1111.70 30
Spot silver $15.30 $0.07 +0.46% -15.84% $17.44 21
Spot plat $1504.00 $4.50 +0.30% -5.59% $1545.55 38
COMEX gold $1065.00 -$64.40 -5.70% -7.50% $1112.27 31
TOCOM gold 3,219 -219 -6.37% -5.16% 3,294 29
TOCOM plat 4,496 -251 -5.29% -3.83% 4,303 35
Currencies
Euro/dlr $1.373 -$0.076 -5.25% -5.37%
Dlr/yen 89.37 -1.58 -1.74% -2.94%
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Reporting by Chikako Mogi; Editing by Chris Gallagher)
