Gold, silver and platinum were softer in Asia on Wednesday, weighed down by long liquidation in New York's Comex market as funds reacted to the dollar's strong gains against the euro.
Spot gold stood at $390.75/391.50 an ounce after briefly touching $392.75, against New York's last quoted level of $392.95/393.45.
Dealers said the bullion market was cautious because gold was moving towards the crucial $390 support level as the dollar rose to a fresh three-month high against the euro and hovered near four-month peaks against the yen.
Gold has tracked movements in the dollar against other currencies, touching a 15-year peak of $430.50 an ounce on January 6 when the euro touched a lifetime high against the dollar.
Dealers pegged downside target at $385.00 an ounce. "There was some physical buying because prices have fallen," said Maggie Loh, a dealer at United Overseas Bank in Singapore.
The dollar jumped to around $1.2170 to the euro in trade, up about 0.4 percent from late on Tuesday, maintaining its recent bullish momentum on growing optimism about a pick-up in the US jobs market.
The dollar rose to 110.28 yen, up about 0.2 percent on the day and within shouting distance of Tuesday's four-month highs around 110.40 yen.
Other precious metals also succumbed to selling following declines in New York and a firm dollar. Spot platinum was quoted at $871/876 an ounce versus $873/878 in New York.
The metal, used in jewellery and automobile catalytic converters, hit a fresh 24-year high at $903 an ounce in Asia on Tuesday.
Silver was trading at $6.69/6.71 an ounce, against 6.71/6.73 in New York and palladium was at $236/241 an ounce versus 237.50/243.50.
The new benchmark February 2005 gold contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) lost 16 yen per gram to 1,383 yen.
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