September 7, 2009 - 1:30am
On Monday gold futures slid down a little but still they kept close to $1,000 level which was linked to weaker dollar and fears about inflation.
Gold prices were largely unchanged, after the U.S. Labor Department reported on Friday that closely watched nonfarm payrolls for August showed the smallest decline in a year. The unemployment rate jumped to a 26-year high of 9.7 percent.
Many market participants thought gold would be hit by near-term profit-taking after last week's rally, with prices climbing by more than 4 percent during the week to hit a peak of $999.50 on Thursday.
That was the highest level since February, the last time it topped $1,000.
"The volumes last week that saw it rise were relatively low ... and you might have thought it would be a fragile rise to these lofty peaks," said Darren Heathcote, head of trading at Investec Australia.
U.S. gold futures for December delivery GCZ9 were at $994.0 per ounce at 0248 GMT, after settling down $1 at $996.70 on Friday. They hit an intraday peak of $998.40.
Gold XAU= stood at $992.0 per ounce, down 0.1 percent compared to the New York notional close of $993.40.
Looking ahead, Heathcote said there was a chance for gold to reach and sustain the $1,000 level if it manages to weather a round of profit-taking.
Gold futures closed at $1,004.50 in late February.
If profit-taking was not sufficiently heavy, there was a good chance gold would recover and break through $1,000 again, Heathcote said.
In a sign of possible falling investor interest, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the SPDR Gold Trust GLD, said holdings stood at 1,077.63 tonnes as of Sept. 4, down 0.38 tonnes or 0.04 percent from the previous business day.
Precious metals prices at 0246 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover
Spot Gold 991.80 -1.60 -0.16 12.69
Spot Silver 16.16 -0.04 -0.25 42.76
Spot Platinum 1262.00 9.50 +0.76 35.41
Spot Palladium 290.50 0.50 +0.17 57.45
TOCOM Gold 2980.00 26.00 +0.88 15.82 33905
TOCOM Platinum 3790.00 30.00 +0.80 42.91 7332
TOCOM Silver 484.70 6.10 +1.27 51.80 173
TOCOM Palladium 875.00 1.00 +0.11 59.09 104
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
Gold prices were largely unchanged, after the U.S. Labor Department reported on Friday that closely watched nonfarm payrolls for August showed the smallest decline in a year. The unemployment rate jumped to a 26-year high of 9.7 percent.
Many market participants thought gold would be hit by near-term profit-taking after last week's rally, with prices climbing by more than 4 percent during the week to hit a peak of $999.50 on Thursday.
That was the highest level since February, the last time it topped $1,000.
"The volumes last week that saw it rise were relatively low ... and you might have thought it would be a fragile rise to these lofty peaks," said Darren Heathcote, head of trading at Investec Australia.
U.S. gold futures for December delivery GCZ9 were at $994.0 per ounce at 0248 GMT, after settling down $1 at $996.70 on Friday. They hit an intraday peak of $998.40.
Gold XAU= stood at $992.0 per ounce, down 0.1 percent compared to the New York notional close of $993.40.
Looking ahead, Heathcote said there was a chance for gold to reach and sustain the $1,000 level if it manages to weather a round of profit-taking.
Gold futures closed at $1,004.50 in late February.
If profit-taking was not sufficiently heavy, there was a good chance gold would recover and break through $1,000 again, Heathcote said.
In a sign of possible falling investor interest, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the SPDR Gold Trust GLD, said holdings stood at 1,077.63 tonnes as of Sept. 4, down 0.38 tonnes or 0.04 percent from the previous business day.
Precious metals prices at 0246 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover
Spot Gold 991.80 -1.60 -0.16 12.69
Spot Silver 16.16 -0.04 -0.25 42.76
Spot Platinum 1262.00 9.50 +0.76 35.41
Spot Palladium 290.50 0.50 +0.17 57.45
TOCOM Gold 2980.00 26.00 +0.88 15.82 33905
TOCOM Platinum 3790.00 30.00 +0.80 42.91 7332
TOCOM Silver 484.70 6.10 +1.27 51.80 173
TOCOM Palladium 875.00 1.00 +0.11 59.09 104
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.