* Dollar pares gains vs the euro after U.S. payrolls numbers
* Gold eyes support around $1,050, then $1,030/1,020/oz
* Silver falls to five-month low at $14.86/oz
(Releads, updates prices, adds silver low)
By Jan Harvey
LONDON, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Gold slid to three-month lows on
Friday as the dollar rose versus the euro amid fears over the
euro zone economy, surrendering earlier small gains it made
after payrolls data briefly pressured the U.S. currency.
Spot gold <XAU=> fell to a low of $1,043.75 and was bid at
$1,050.05 an ounce at 1656 GMT, against $1,062.60 late in New
York on Thursday.
U.S. gold futures for April delivery <GCJ0> on the COMEX
division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell $12.40 to
$1,050.00 an ounce.
Gold is extending losses after prices fell 4 percent on
Thursday in the wake of a news conference by European Central
Bank chief Jean-Claude Trichet which fuelled jitters over the
state of the euro zone economy, knocking the euro.
"Some damage was done yesterday," said Thomas Hartmann, a
broker/analyst at California-based Altavest Worldwide Trading.
"If you are bullish on gold, it is important that the market
holds the $1,050 an ounce level."
The euro fell to its lowest level against the dollar since
May on rising risk aversion, as the cost of insuring the debt of
some euro zone nations against default hit record highs on
worries over their fiscal positions. []
Strength in the U.S. unit curbs gold's appeal as an
alternative asset and makes dollar-priced commodities more
expensive for holders of other currencies.
Oil prices also tumbled, sliding more than 4 percent, as the
stronger dollar and data showing additional U.S. job cuts
weighed on the market. []
Gold tends to track crude prices, as the metal can be bought
as a hedge against oil-led inflation.
ETF REPORTS OUTFLOWS
Gold is vulnerable to extending recent sharp losses to reach
$1,020-1,030 an ounce if support at current levels fails to
hold, and may face a deeper retracement below $1,000 if it
breaks that level, technical analysts said. []
"That whole area is now becoming more and more important as
the next barometer of gold sentiment on a trading basis," said
Redtower Research analyst Gerry Celaya.
"If we go below $1,030-1,020, anybody who is hoping this is
a pullback within a broad channel would start to (rethink). They
would start to look to a retreat back into the low end of the
trading range, around $980."
Investment in gold-backed exchange-traded funds was
lacklustre, with holdings of the world's biggest, New York's
SPDR Gold Trust <GLD> falling 5.8 tonnes or 0.5 percent on
Thursday. []
However, premiums for gold bars in Asia were steady above $1
on Friday as jewellers made last-minute purchases ahead of the
Lunar New Year, with bargain hunting from other Asian consumers
also emerging as bullion held near three-month lows. []
Silver <XAG=> also tumbled to its lowest since early
September at $14.63, tracking losses in gold. It was later at
$14.73 an ounce versus $15.23.
Platinum and palladium also hit 2010 lows on Friday at
$1,444 an ounce and $379.50 an ounce respectively. Platinum
<XPT=> was later at $1,457 an ounce versus $1,499.50, while
palladium <XPD=> was at $389.50 against $406.50.
Holdings of new platinum and palladium-backed ETFs launched
in New York last month have stabilised after rising sharply in
the first days of their existence, prompting price gains.
Holdings of ETFS Physical Platinum Shares <PPLT.P> were
unchanged for a third session at 244,941 ounces, while those of
ETFS Physical Palladium shares were steady for a seventh day.
(Editing by Keiron Henderson)
