(Adds quote, TOCOM settlement prices)
By Maryelle Demongeot
SINGAPORE, May 30 (Reuters) - Gold edged down on Friday,
adding to losses of the previous session when it fell by more
than 2 percent, as oil fell further and the dollar steadied at
close to a three-month high against the yen.
Spot gold <XAU=> stood at $876.70/877.70 an ounce by 0831
GMT, down from $877.85/879.25 an ounce late in New York on
Thursday.
"Gold could go down to $845-$850 over the next two working
days and recover from there. It's a very strong support level,"
said Adrian Koh, an analyst at Philip Futures in Singapore.
"There may be more downside later today. It will depend on
U.S. economic data," Koh added.
The U.S. Commerce Department is due to release April
personal income and consumption data at 1230 GMT, which
economists surveyed by Reuters expected to be both up 0.2
percent.
Also expected is New York NAPM's May index of regional
business activity, while the National Association of Purchasing
Management-Chicago will release May index of manufacturing
activity.
Gold fell sharply on Thursday, dragged down by oil prices
that continued to retreat from last week's record highs, and a
stronger dollar that has risen to close to a three-month high
against the yen.
"The U.S. dollar was firmer and oil prices were weaker.
These influenced gold prices because of their impact on
investment flows and inflation expectations," said David Moore,
an analyst with Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney.
Gold is sought after as an alternative currency and hedge
against inflation, and tends to move in an opposite direction
to the dollar.
The U.S. dollar was last quoted at 105.50/105.54 yen <JPY=>
on Friday, having risen earlier as high as 105.76 yen.
This was close to the three-month high of 105.88 yen struck
on Thursday after an upward revision to U.S. economic growth
figures added to evidence that the United States may stave off
recession and underscored expectations for the Federal Reserve
to raise interest rates this year. []
The U.S. economy grew a bit faster than initially thought
in the first quarter, with gross domestic product up a 0.9
percent annual rate, against earlier estimates of a rate of 0.6
percent.
"Over the next few months, gold could remain very volatile
as it is influenced very much by movements in the U.S. dollar,
which will in turn be influenced by perceptions of the outlook
for the U.S. economy," Moore added.
The U.S. dollar index <DXY.>, which measures the dollar's
value against a basket of major currencies, was up 0.30 percent
at 73.190.
Oil fell towards $125 a barrel on Friday, extending
Thursday's hefty $4.41 fall as the market focused on signs that
record-high prices had started to hurt oil demand in the U.S.
and in several Asian developing countries.
Front-month U.S. crude for July delivery <CLc1> was down
$1.19 at $125.43 a barrel on the Globex electronic trading
platform, down nearly $10 from last Thursday's when it hit a
record high $135.09.
Gold futures for August delivery <GCQ8> on the COMEX
division of the New York Mercantile Exchange were down $1.10 an
ounce at $876.10 an ounce.
The most active Tokyo gold futures contract <0#JAU:>, for
April, tracked the fall in gold prices and settled down 59 yen
at 2,999 yen per gram.
Other precious metals also fell in line with gold, with
platinum slipping by more than 4 percent on Thursday to touch a
three-week trough and sliver shedding 4.3 percent in choppy
trade.
Spot platinum <XPT=> extended losses to $1,961/1,981 an
ounce, from $1,990.50/2,010.50 in late trade on Thursday.
The most active Tokyo platinum futures <0#JPL:> contract
for April settled 234 yen lower at 6,519 yen per gram, having
fallen by as much as 298 yen earlier in the day.
Spot silver <XAG=> fell to $16.52/16.57 an ounce from
$16.86/16.92 late in New York, unmoved by a decision by Peru's
largest federation of mining unions to hold a nationwide strike
starting on June 16 after Congress delayed voting on a bill to
improve labour benefits.
Peru is the world's leading silver producer, ranks second
in copper and zinc, and fifth in gold, according to government
data. []
Spot palladium <XPD=> also fell, to $420.50/$428.50 an
ounce, from 427.50/435.50.
Precious metals prices at 0831 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 876.70 0.30 +0.03 5.28
Spot Silver 16.52 -0.04 -0.24 11.85
Spot Platinum 1961.00 -25.50 -1.28 29.01
Spot Palladium 420.50 -1.00 -0.24 14.27
TOCOM Gold 2999.00 -59.00 -1.93 -1.99
59413
TOCOM Platinum 6519.00 -234.00 -3.47 22.10
36142
TOCOM Silver 569.40 -27.00 -4.53 5.25
1357
TOCOM Palladium 1456.00 -31.00 -2.08 7.77
1544
Euro/Dollar 1.5480
Dollar/Yen 105.46
Note - TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver
which is priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per
ounce.
(Editing by Michael Urquhart and Louise Heavens)
