RTRS: US gold drops on technical selling, dollar rise
NEW YORK, Feb 3 (Reuters) - U.S. gold futures dropped on
Wednesday, retreating from a two-week high earlier in the
session, as a dollar rise and technical weakness prompted
bullion investors to lock in profits.
* For the latest detailed report, click on [GOL/].
GOLD
* April GCJ0 eases $1.80 to $1,116.20 an ounce at 9:47
a.m. EST (1447 GMT) on COMEX division of NYMEX.
* Range $1,111.70 to 1,126.40 -- highest since Jan. 20.
* Gold turns lower as dollar rises against euro as the EU
backed a Greek deficit-cutting plan. [USD/]
* Market seen overbought as April futures hover above
14-day moving average at $1,108 - traders.
* Charts show gold rallies usually taper after two
sessions, and that explains Wednesday's weakness - CitiFX.
* Barclays Wealth Americas recommends short-gold strategy
as bullion is significantly overvalued against fundamentals.
* COMEX estimated 9 a.m. volume at 63,275 contracts.
* Spot gold XAU= at $1,116.75, against $1,113.95 in late
New York business.
* London afternoon gold fix XAUFIX= at $1,115.25.
SILVER
* March SIH0 down 16.80 cents, or 1 percent, at $16.575
an ounce, on profit taking.
* Range $16.500 to $16.950.
* COMEX estimated 9 a.m. volume at 29,529 lots.
* Spot silver XAG= at $16.58 an ounce, compared with
$16.68 late in the previous session in New York.
* London silver XAGFIX= afternoon fix at $16.79 an
ounce.
PLATINUM
* April PLJ0 up $4.90 at $1,583.70 an ounce.
* Platinum group metals supported as recent strong U.S.
economic data boosted their industrial characteristics.
* Spot platinum XPT= at $1,583 an ounce.
PALLADIUM
* March palladium PAH0 down 45 cents at $444.30 an ounce,
tracking platinum.
* Spot palladium XPD= at $443 an ounce.
Prices at 10:15 a.m. EST (1515 GMT)
Last Change Pct 2009 YTD
Chg Close % Chg
US gold GCG0 1116.20 -1.20 -0.1 1096.20 1.8
US silver SIH0 16.585 -0.158 -0.9 16.845 -1.5
US platinum PLJ0 1586.10 7.30 0.5 1471 7.8
US palladium PAH0 444.30 -0.45 -0.1 408.85 8.7
Gold XAU= 1115.90 1.95 0.2 1096.35 1.8
Silver XAG= 16.57 -0.11 -0.7 16.84 -1.6
Platinum XPT= 1583.50 7.00 0.4 1465.50 8.1
Palladium XPD= 442.00 2.50 0.6 405.50 9.0
Gold Fix XAUFIX= 1115.25 -3.25 -0.3 1104 1.0
Silver Fix XAGFIX= 16.79 1.00 0.1 16.99 -1.2
Platinum Fix XPTFIX= 1578.00 8.00 0.5 1466 7.6
Palladium Fix XPDFIX= 442.00 4.00 0.9 402 10.0
(Reporting by Frank Tang; Editing by Walter Bagley)