, June 24 (Reuters) - Gold edged up on Friday from
losses of as much as 2 percent in the previous session,
supported by a softer dollar versus the euro after Greece won approval for a five-year austerity plan.
But after the steep losses on Thursday bullion is headed for its worst week since a commodity-wide rout in early May.
The euro rebounded in Asia following news Greece has agreed
with international lenders on an austerity plan that would bring
it one step closer to securing much-needed financial aid.
But with fears of a potential Greek debt default still in
the air and the global economy in a patchy state, gold will
remain well supported, analysts say.
"We still are in very uncertain times and it's likely to
continue until we see greater signs of economic growth globally,
particularly in the United States, and we start to see the
European debt situation ease," said Darren Heathcote, head of
trading at Investec Australia.
"While those problems remain we are likely to see gold well
supported. Investors flee to gold in times of trouble as they
have done consistently for a very long time."
Spot gold rose $2.55 to $1,523.25 an ounce by 0523
GMT, after its biggest slide in more than a month on Thursday.
Bullion is down around 1 percent for the week, its steepest
since losing more than 4 percent during the commodity rout in
early May.
Silver was little changed at $35.20 an ounce.
Platinum climbed more than 1 percent to $1,713.99 and
palladium rose 0.7 percent to $747.47.
Gold has dropped more than 3 percent since hitting a record
high of $1,575.79 on May 2, but Investec's Heathcote said it
could test that level if the Greek debt situation worsens again.
The Greek government's austerity plan, including deep
spending cuts and more tax hikes, must still be passed by the
parliament at a vote next week.
News that industrialised nations would release oil from
emergency stockpiles for the third time in history in a bid to
tame high energy prices that have been weighing on the global
economy could cap gold's gains, but should boost prices of
industrial metals.
The news sent oil prices tumbling to four-month lows on
Thursday but prices have regained some footing on Friday as
market players began gauging how much supply would reach the
market.
"Lower oil prices have the potential to boost economic
growth, so you might expect some of the metals and other
commodities used in manufacturing would look at this as a rather
bullish move," said Heathcote.
Bullion investors are also paying close attention to
discussions over the U.S. debt limit after budget talks
collapsed on Thursday when Republican negotiators walked out,
casting doubt on Washington's ability to reach a deal that would
allow the government to keep borrowing and avoid a debt default.
Also on the radar is the final estimate for U.S.
first-quarter GDP data, due later on Friday, following a recent
spate of weak economic numbers.
Data on Thursday showed the number of Americans filing new
claims for unemployment benefits rose last week, suggesting
little improvement in the labor market this month after hiring
stumbled badly in May.
Precious metals price at 0523 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover
Spot Gold 1523.25 2.55 +0.17 7.31
Spot Silver 35.20 -0.05 -0.14 14.06
Spot Platinum 1713.99 19.49 +1.15 -3.03
Spot Palladium 747.47 5.12 +0.69 -6.51
TOCOM Gold 3950.00 -53.00 -1.32 5.93 74899
TOCOM Platinum 4497.00 -15.00 -0.33 -4.24 17308
TOCOM Silver 91.40 -1.90 -2.04 12.84 832
TOCOM Palladium 1942.00 -25.00 -1.27 -7.39 249
Euro/Dollar 1.4269
Dollar/Yen 80.46
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
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