Gold futures ended a hair higher in thin and directionless trade on Friday, driven by pre-weekend position squaring and lessened flight-to-quality buying on hopes that a US stimulus plan would bolster a struggling economy. Gold for April delivery settled up 10 cents at $914.30 an ounce on the COMEX York Mercantile Exchange. Ranged $905.40 to $921.90.
GOLD: Gold trading largely on hold amid low volume ahead of US Treasury's plan to strengthen banks and the financial system on Monday - George Gero, vice president of RBC Capital Markets Global Futures. Volume and open interest signal serious investment demand, which has been overtaking hedge selling from gold producers - Gero.
Early session gains erased after report showed US employers slashed 598,000 jobs in January the deepest cut in payrolls in 34 years and the jobless rate shot up to 7.6 percent. Sharp investment inflows continued to provide underlying support. The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust, said its bullion holdings nearly 8 tonnes to record 867.19 tonnes as of February 5.
Gold futures contracts and crude oil both fell in mixed trade. Gold-oil ratio turned slightly lower to 22.3, compared with 22.5 in the previous session. COMEX estimated 1:00 pm EST (1800 GMT) electronic volume at 69,432 lots. Floor volume was not available due to a technical problem. COMEX gold open interest up 2,462 to 348,899 lots as of February 5. Spot gold was at $911.55 an ounce at 2:12 pm EST (1912 GMT), down 0.6 percent from the last trade on Thursday.
SILVER: March finished up 41.0 cents, or 3.2 percent, at $13.160 an ounce based on strength of industrial metals such as copper, outperforming gold. Ranged $12.740 to $13.180, which marked a four-month high. COMEX estimated 1:00 pm electronic volume at 13,097 lots. Spot silver quoted at $13.11 an ounce, up 2.1 percent from its previous close.
PLATINUM: NYMEX April platinum ended up $22.30, or 2.3 percent, at $1,004.30 an ounce extending a recent rally helped by a stronger stock market and hopes that auto demand will recover soon. Spot platinum quoted at $994.00 an ounce, up 2.2 percent from its last finish.
PALLADIUM: NYMEX March palladium closed up $11.15, or 5.5 percent, at $213.35 an ounce on pent-up demand in tandem with platinum's gains. Spot palladium was at $210.50 an ounce, up 5.0 percent from its previous close on Thursday.
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