Precious metals steadied in Europe on Thursday afternoon, with gold firming while platinum metals found some poise after sharp, currency-induced falls seen earlier.
Dealers said the outlook for all the metals was hard to call as the market was so closely tied to euro/dollar moves.
"The markets are incredibly uncertain about which way to go across all of the metals, If I had to a guess either way I'd probably say higher rather than lower for gold, but its close," HSBC metals analyst Alan Williamson said.
The appeal of precious metals as an alternative investment had been dulled by a buoyant dollar amid expectations the US Federal Reserve is prepared to move aggressively to keep inflation in check.
But further losses were avoided on Thursday when weaker than expected US jobs data and a strong import prices report proved neutral for the dollar. The euro was at $1.2088/90, slightly up from late New York levels on Wednesday.
Spot gold was at $386.50/387.25.00 an ounce by 1453 GMT, off a low of $382.40 in Asia and compared with $383.70/384.45 last quoted in New York on Wednesday.
Silver was at $5.67/5.70, from $5.62/5.64 previously.
The dollar had built momentum against major currencies after US Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's comments on Tuesday about inflation, bolstering expectations of strong monetary tightening.
A rise in US interest rates would make dollar-denominated assets more attractive, boosting demand for dollars and making gold more expensive for holders of other currencies.
Gold has lost around 10 percent since touching a 15-year high of $430.50 in early January.
Also on Thursday, Bank of France Governor Christian Noyer said the bank plans to sell some of the country's gold and a sale of 500-600 tonnes is possible.
The news did not affect gold prices heavily as any sales would be within the remit of a recently agreed accord on European central bank disposals.
Platinum reversed earlier losses to trade at $800.00/805.00, unchanged from late New York levels, after losing more than one percent to hit a low of $791.00 in Asian activity earlier.
Palladium moved up on the back of platinum to $216.00/221.00, compared with $215.00/220.00 in New York.
Dealers said the platinum market might still see drops under the day's lows.
"With Chinese demand still questionable at the moment, platinum is likely to struggle, especially if the dollar continues to firm, with $785 seen as the next level of strong support," James Moore of TheBullionDessk.com said in a daily report.
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