Gold futures firmed early Wednesday, but gyrated near three-month lows as the dollar seesawed on mixed US durable goods orders data. New orders for long-lasting manufactured items - from washing machines to aircraft - climbed 1.9 percent in April, but fell 0.2 percent minus the volatile transportation category, the government said. The dollar initially rose on the data, pushing gold briefly into negative territory, because financial markets had expected a smaller 1.0 percent gain, following March's upwardly revised 1.6 percent drop.
By 9:41 am EDT (1341 GMT) the dollar fell back to $1.26 per euro, while June gold on the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division stood 90 cents higher at $418.60 an ounce, moving from $417.10 to $418.80.
Dealers said gold was helped by firmness in industrial metals, which have received more fund interest as recent worries about a sharp slowdown in US economic growth abated.
Switch activity was heavy on Tuesday, with non-commercial players exchanging June positions for August before first notice day for June on Tuesday. With a US market holiday on Monday for Memorial Day and a shortened session on Friday, that leaves two full sessions to complete the rollovers.
Estimated final volume of 135,000 contracts on Tuesday was swollen by switches. But many traders refrained from too much outright trading before the long weekend.
Spot gold was quoted at $418.00/8.70, up from the close at $417.40/8.10 an ounce. The morning fix in London was at $418.50.
Analysts peg strong support at $414-410 and say any reversion of the dollar to its weakening trend should put gold back on a solid footing. July delivery silver was up 6.7 cents at $7.07 an ounce, after trading between $7.00 and $7.09.
Spot silver fetched $7.04/07 an ounce, versus $6.96/99 late Tuesday. Wednesday's fix in London was at $7.01.
In NYMEX metals, July platinum was off $2.80 at $867 an ounce. Spot platinum was at $864/867.
June palladium eased 40 cents to $188 an ounce. Spot was at $185.50/188.50.
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