US gold futures stretched higher early Thursday morning amid speculative short covering sparked by US dollar softness and inflation worries with crude oil prices also edging up, dealers said. But, after two US economic reports failed to make a splash, traders mainly were awaiting Friday's reports on US payrolls and traders' commitments in COMEX gold for further direction. "This is short covering, but gold is still a bit confused here after the productivity data flayed the euro rally," a floor trader said, adding dealers were tracking currency moves. "We are all waiting for the jobs report," he added.
By 10:17 am (1417 GMT), gold for June delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division was up 40 cents at $430.40 an ounce, stuck within a range of $430.10 to $432.50.
Though New York markets were buzzing after a minor pre-dawn blast at the British consulate here, gold shrugged off the news on Britain's election day, with polls predicting Prime Minister Tony Blair would be returned to power.
New York police said they were investigating the blast in midtown Manhattan that shattered some windows but caused no injuries.
Analysts felt June gold was caught in a trading range between support at $426.50 and resistance at $431.50.
Meanwhile, Gold Bullion Securities managing director Simon Village said European investors would soon get access to securities backed by gold bullion bars with a listing on the pan-European exchange Euronext by the end of 2005.
Spot gold was quoted at $429.10/9.90 an ounce, above Wednesday's closing level in New York at $428.85/9.60. Thursday's London afternoon fix was at $429.15.
July silver rose 2.7 cents to $7.04 an ounce, moving between $7.02 and $7.10. Spot silver firmed to $7.00/7.03, from its prior close at $6.97/7.00. The fix was $7.00.
July platinum was up 50 cents at $876 an ounce. Spot platinum reached $873/877. June palladium gained $1.15 to $195.50 an ounce. Spot palladium was at $193/197.
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