(Updates to TOCOM close, adds comments)
By Chikafumi Hodo
TOKYO, May 2 (Reuters) - Gold edged higher from early lows on
Friday but was weighed down by the dollar's recovery against the
euro, with sharp draws in gold exchange-traded funds providing
additional pressure.
Light short-covering lifted cash gold slightly from late New
York levels after losing about 6 percent in the last week. Gold
fell as far as $847.10 an ounce on Thursday -- the lowest since
early January.
As of 0904 GMT, spot gold <XAU=> was at $855.50/856.20 an
ounce, versus $850.25/851.65 late in New York.
"The trend is clearly downward. Sentiment deteriorated
further after slipping below the psychological level of $850,"
said Tatsuo Kageyama, analyst at Kanetsu Asset Management in
Tokyo.
"Gold was falling as the dollar rebounded strongly. The
outlook for gold also turned very weak after seeing sharp
drawdowns in gold ETFs."
Gold held in New York-listed StreetTRACKS Gold Shares
<XAUEXT-NYS-TT>, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded
fund, fell to 580.45 tonnes as of Wednesday, shedding nearly 10
percent of its holdings in the last 10 days.
Kageyama said gold could fall further and could test $800
depending on the moves in the dollar and oil prices.
Cash gold slipped through key moving average levels following
falls in the past two weeks. The next key support is around the
200-day moving average of $823.46.
COMEX gold futures rebounded on Friday after losing 1.6
percent in New York. The June contract <GCM8> was up $5.0 or 0.6
percent at $855.9 from the New York settlement.
JOBS DATA IN FOCUS
Japanese precious metals futures fell sharply in line with
falls in post-Tokyo trade on Thursday, with gold futures <0#JAU:>
slipping to a one-month low and platinum <0#JPL:> diving nearly 4
percent to a five-week low.
The key April 2009 gold contract on the Tokyo Commodity
Exchange <0#JAU:> closed down 24 yen, or 0.8 percent, at 2,907
yen per gram from the previous day's 2,931 yen.
On Thursday, the dollar rose to five-week highs against the
euro after a key U.S. manufacturing index for April came in
slightly better than expected.
Traders were awaiting the April U.S. employment report due at
1230 GMT. Economists in a Reuters survey expect to see 80,000
jobs lost in the month, a repeat of the March loss. The
unemployment rate is seen at 5.2 percent compared with 5.1
percent a month earlier. []
"Gold and other commodities have fallen quite sharply as the
dollar and stocks rebounded strongly, but it will be tough to
sell gold even further as commodities now look oversold," said
Hisaaki Tasaka, a market analyst at Ace Koeki Co Ltd in Tokyo.
"It's still early to say that the dollar will advance further
or to say confidence in the financial market will be fully
restored. We expect to see some bargain-hunting in gold or oil
soon," Tasaka said.
U.S. crude oil futures rebounded by late Asian trade on
Friday after falling on easing supply worries in Nigeria and
concerns that demand, especially in the United States, is being
curbed by high prices.
Front-month U.S. crude for June delivery <CLc1> rose 46
cents, or 0.4 percent, to $112.98 a barrel in electronic trading
after settling down 94 cents, or 0.83 percent, at $112.52 on
Thursday.
Platinum <XPT=> fell to $1,843.00/1,863 an ounce from
$1,860.50/1,880.50 in New York.
Palladium <XPD=> was unchanged at $406.00/414.00 an ounce
from $406/414.
Silver <XAG=> rose to $16.25/16.30 an ounce versus
$16.16/16.22 late in New York.
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except for silver which is in yen
per 10 grams, spot prices in $ per ounce.
Precious metals prices at 0904 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover
Spot Gold 855.30 3.65 +0.43 2.71
Spot Silver 16.25 0.12 +0.74 10.02
Spot Platinum 1843.50 -16.50 -0.89 21.28
Spot Palladium 408.50 4.00 +0.99 11.01
TOCOM Gold 2907.00 -24.00 -0.82 -5.00 66059
TOCOM Platinum 6035.00 -176.00 -2.83 13.04 31700
TOCOM Silver 553.00 -11.30 -2.00 2.22 1648
TOCOM Palladium 1393.00 -25.00 -1.76 3.11 2780
Euro/Dollar 1.5482
Dollar/Yen 104.74
