* Gold gains on firmer euro, off 2-week lows
* PGMs, silver steady
* Coming Up: U.S. retail sales for February (1330 GMT)
(Updates prices)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, March 12 (Reuters) - Gold firmed on Friday as
the dollar slipped against the euro on worries U.S. retail
sales for February could show a drop in consumer spending,
denting prospects for a sustainable economic recovery.
Despite the gains, bullion prices have lost more than 7
percent since powering to a lifetime high above $1,200 an ounce
in December last year and is heading for its biggest weekly
drop since mid-January at 2 percent.
Spot gold <XAU=> was at $1,112.30 by 0541 GMT, up $3 from
New York's notional close on Thursday, when it hit a low of
around $1,100, its weakest since Jan. 25.
Bullion hovered below the 100-day moving average but was
well above the 300-day moving average of around $1,000, with
dealers expecting the metal's safe-haven appeal to remain
intact amid fears over sovereign debt issues in euro zone
economies.
Dealers in Singapore noted light buying by jewellers from
Indonesia and Thailand, while sales of gold scrap were limited.
"We are above the 300-day moving average. I think there is
still a chance for gold to continue to move higher in the days
and weeks ahead," said Darren Heathcote, head of trading at
Investec Australia in Sydney.
"The correlation with gold and the euro may return.
Obviously it temporarily broke down when gold sold off yet the
euro went higher. I think as the dollar weakens, we should see
gold start to move ahead again."
The euro rose to $1.3699 <EUR=> ahead of the release of the
U.S. retail sales data which could show a 0.2 percent decline
in February versus a 0.5 percent increase in January. []
The euro briefly came under pressure on Thursday after
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the priority for Greece
was to win back the confidence of financial markets and the
debt-stricken country's first steps were a positive start.
[].
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR
Gold Trust <GLD>, said its holdings stood at 1,115.511 tonnes
as of March 11, unchanged from the previous business
day.[]
U.S. gold futures for April delivery <GCJ0> rose $4.1 an
ounce to $1,112.3 after ending slightly higher on Thursday
despite worries that possible monetary tightening by China
could weigh on bullion.
"I think we will be stuck in a range. The price is not low
enough to attract physical buying and not high enough to
encourage sales of scrap," said a dealer in Singapore.
"We were seeing light buying earlier, but things are
quieting down unfortunately," he added.
Silver, platinum and palladium -- also regarded as
industrial metals -- steadied after being hit by fund selling
following the release of strong consumer inflation data from
China that triggered worries about monetary tightening.
Platinum group metals have gained on the prospects of
steady demand for autocatalysts as the global economy recovers
and 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.
The world's largest silver-backed exchange-traded fund, the
iShares Silver Trust <SLV>, said its holdings fell 48.82 tonnes
from the previous business day to 9,302.58 tonnes as of March
11. []
Precious metals prices at 0541 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 1112.30 3.00 +0.27 1.52
Spot Silver 17.16 0.00 +0.00 1.96
Spot Platinum 1606.75 -2.75 -0.17 9.53
Spot Palladium 458.25 0.25 +0.05 13.01
TOCOM Gold 3251.00 22.00 +0.68 -0.25
33208
TOCOM Platinum 4675.00 82.00 +1.79 6.71
18394
TOCOM Silver 50.50 0.90 +1.81 -2.32
319
TOCOM Palladium 1330.00 29.00 +2.23 14.16
472
Euro/Dollar 1.3699
Dollar/Yen 90.59
(Editing by Ed Lane)
