* Gold nears 3-week low as investors cash out
* Uncertainties over global economic outlook supportive
By Risa Maeda
TOKYO, March 4 (Reuters) - Gold edged down on Wednesday,
approaching a three-week low near $900 per ounce, as some
investors cashed out to seek bargains in recently battered
assets, including stocks.
But doubts over the outlook for the global economy were
providing support to the yellow metal. Investors are waiting
for U.S. economic data, including a monthly jobs report later
this week, to gauge the health of the world's biggest economy.
Spot gold <XAU=> was at $913.80 an ounce by 0243 GMT, down
0.2 percent from its notional close in New York. It earlier
touched a low of $909.75.
On Tuesday, gold fell as low as $904.30, the lowest since
Feb. 10, dragged down by forced liquidation related to a
volatile equities market and technical weakness. It hit an
11-month high of $1,005.40 on Feb. 20.
"There are signs that some investors are unwinding some
gold longs to shift away from safety," said Tatsufumi Okoshi,
senior economist at Nomura Securities Co's financial and
economic research center.
U.S. shares fell again on Tuesday, but their losses were
narrower than before. Also, non-gold commodities markets were
showing resilience after a sell-off recently, he said.
"But that does not mean the allure of gold is fading. There
is persistent fear that stock markets could be hit again,"
Okoshi said.
Some will also be watching the monthly private U.S. payroll
survey from ADP Employer Services later in the day, which
serves as a forerunner to Friday's U.S. non-farm payrolls
report.
A Reuters poll estimated the ADP national employment index
of would point to a loss of 610,000 jobs in February.
Japan's Nikkei stock average <> fell 0.8 percent on
Wednesday, with other exporters slipping despite a weaker yen
on growing worry about demand as the global recession bites.
[]
Oil prices dipped on Wednesday after rising nearly 4
percent on Tuesday on expectations that producer group OPEC
will cut output again. []
Demand for gold-backed exchange-traded funds has stalled in
the past week, curbing aggressive buying in the physical
market. The steady flow of money into ETFs has been key in
pushing gold prices higher since the beginning of the year.
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the
SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, said its holdings have held at a record
1,029.29 tonnes since Feb. 26.
Precious metals prices at 0239 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 914.25 -1.45 -0.16 43.82
Spot Silver 12.78 -0.02 -0.16 -0.54
Spot Platinum 1034.00 3.00 +0.29 -8.66
Spot Palladium 191.00 -0.50 -0.26 -42.47
TOCOM Gold 2892.00 -27.00 -0.92 18.28
27003
TOCOM Platinum 3245.00 -61.00 -1.85 -23.72
5418
TOCOM Silver 397.40 0.60 +0.15 -19.44
181
TOCOM Palladium 612.00 9.00 +1.49 -51.24
156
Euro/Dollar 1.2491
Dollar/Yen 98.57
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Additional reporting by Miho Yoshikawa; Editing by Clarence
Fernandez)
