Tocom gold higher on New York rise, silver up limit

Tokyo gold futures' key contract climbed as much as 1.7 percent on Friday, tracking the rise in New York, but it later gave up some of its gains as worries about currency market direction weighed on sentiment.
TOCOM silver closed up the 12-yen daily limit on the back of overseas markets, which rose on hopes that US regulators will approve a silver exchange-traded fund, a move that could draw fresh investment to the market.
The benchmark February gold contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange finished up 28 yen per gram at 2,163 yen, after moving between 2,151 yen and 2,171 yen, the highest level since February 10.
Other months rose by 15-23 yen. "The market failed to hold on to its gains due to (currency market concerns)," said Koji Suzuki, a market analyst at Livedoor Commodity.
Spot gold was fetching $568.80/$569.70 an ounce at TOCOM's closing bell, up a touch from $568.30/$569.20 last quoted in New York.
Total gold turnover on TOCOM was estimated at a healthy 93,837 lots, up from Thursday's 55,272 lots.
In New York, gold for April delivery settled $4.60 firmer at $570.40 an ounce.
In the currency market, the yen touched a high of 115.56 yen against the dollar on electronic trading platform EBS on Friday, immediately after the release of Japan's widely awaited core consumer price index data.
The index rose 0.5 percent in January from a year earlier, beating forecasts and giving the clearest signal yet that the economy is finally escaping nearly a decade of deflation.
However, the Japanese currency failed to hold on to its gains as the latest economic data did not help shake off the view that the yen would remain a low-yielding currency for the time being.
The dollar was fetching 116.42/116.47 yen at 0630 GMT, against 115.85/115.88 yen in late New York trade. Commodity traders have been closely tracking currency moves, a major influence in market direction.
All six TOCOM silver contracts finished up by the daily limit.
"TOCOM silver is following Asian markets in reacting to the news that US regulators might approve (the fund)," Suzuki said.
February TOCOM silver finished at 367.1 yen per 10 grams, a three-week high.
Spot silver was at $10.19/$10.22 an ounce versus $10.18/$10.21 in New York.
Below are closing prices for TOCOM's most active precious metals contracts, with the day's turnover for each metal.