Gold held near London levels on Tuesday ahead of the release of US economic data, which may offer new direction to precious metals. Spot gold was at $671.50/672.30 an ounce, hardly changed from $671.80/672.40 late in London. Markets in New York were closed on Monday for the Labour Day holiday.
The benchmark August 2008 gold futures on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange fell 9 yen per gram to 2,525 yen. The dollar was steady against the euro and the yen as players awaited the release of US data for clues on how much the credit market turmoil has affected growth.
The euro was little changed at $1.3615 and the dollar also barely moved against the yen at 115.80 yen. US data due this week includes the Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing activity in August on Tuesday, the Fed.'s beige book summary of the economy's performance on Wednesday and the monthly non-farm payroll report on Friday.
Economists expect a median reading of 53.0 for the ISM index versus 53.8 in July. The market is looking for the Fed to cut rates by at least 25 basis points to 5.0 percent at its September 18 policy meeting. Platinum rose to $1,267/1,272 an ounce from $1,264.50/1,271.50 late in London. Palladium also rose to $329/334 an ounce from $328/332 an ounce. Silver edged down to $12.05/12.10 an ounce from $12.08/12.13 an ounce.
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