Gold held steady on Friday after rising in New York on a rebound in US stocks but the metal would be stuck in a range ahead of the release of key US data.
Spot gold was little changed at $646.30/647.30 an ounce, versus $646.40/647.40 late in New York on Thursday, when it climbed more than $3 as investors bought back the metal.
Gold would be keeping a close watch on share prices and oil for direction, and investors remained jittery because of the metal's dramatic fall since hitting a 9-month high of $689 on February 26.
"Obviously, some investors are happy to sit on the fence right now," said Darren Heathcote of Invested Australia in Sydney. "I think we're probably looking at, it sounds wide, about $640-$650 today. I still believe it needs to break above $650 or $652 to give some of the funds the comfort from the technical standpoint that they should be buying," he said.
US crude oil futures were hovering below $58 a barrel on Friday, having settled at its lowest in more than a month after Opec's widely expected decision to keep existing oil output curbs in place. The Nikkei average fell 0.92 after investors booked profits in recent gainers as concerns about the US economic outlook lingered before the release of US consumer prices and sentiment.
Benchmark gold futures for February delivery on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange was unchanged at 2,452 yen per gram, having risen more than 1 percent the previous day on a softer yen. Silver edged up to $12.98/13.03 an ounce from $12.97/13.02 late in New York. Platinum fell to $1,207/1,212 an ounce from $1,213/1,217. Palladium eased to $347/352 an ounce from $349/354 an ounce.
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