Tokyo gold futures fell to their lowest level in nearly one week on Monday, pressured by the yen's strength and active technical sales after they failed to break through a key technical resistance mark last week. Investors were keen to unwind positions ahead the Japanese Golden Week holiday, which begins on Friday, and a series of events, including the Federal Reserve's policy-setting meeting next week when Tokyo will be on holiday. The benchmark February gold contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange closed down six yen or 0.4 percent at 1,483 yen per gram.
It dropped to a session low of 1,481 yen - the lowest since April 19 - but found some support given firmness in the dollar-denominated spot price.
"Basically, gold is range-bound as the market doesn't want to take large positions ahead of the holiday," said Hiroyuki Kikukawa, associate director at Nihon Unicom Corp.
The technical trend for the key gold contract deteriorated after it failed to break through the closely watched resistance level and this year's high of 1,495 yen last week.
The strength of the yen was another excuse to unwind gold positions.
The Japanese currency rose to a one-month high of around 105.26 against the dollar in early Asian trade.
As of 0639 GMT, the yen was trading at 105.82/84 yen, up from nearly 107 yen in Asia last Friday.
A higher yen lowers the value of yen-based commodities prices, including gold.
But the fall in TOCOM gold was limited given the strength of the spot bullion price.
Spot gold bounced to a one-month high of $435.75 per ounce in New York on Friday.
It was trading at $434.50/$435.30 as of 0639 GMT, compared with the late New York level of $433.70/$434.50.
Dollar-based gold received support from bullish crude oil prices. Rises in oil prices rekindle fears of inflation and boost gold's status as a hedge against inflation.
On Monday, the prompt April TOCOM gold contract expired at 1,477 yen, down four yen from Friday's settlement.
TOCOM platinum drifted down in line with falls in gold, with the yen's firmness hurting sentiment towards the white metal, traders said. The February platinum contract closed at 2,921 yen per gram, down seven yen from Friday's close. The February contract found some support at its 14-day moving average around 2,920 yen.
Below are closing prices for TOCOM's most active precious metals contracts, with the day's turnover for each metal.
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