US gold futures hit a three-month low early on Friday, briefly trading under $1,050 an ounce, as a dollar rally driven by risk aversion and fiscal fears in some eurozone countries dampened sentiment. April gold down $5.70 at $1,057.30 an ounce at 11:03 am EST (1603 GMT) on COMEX division of NYMEX. Range $1,069.40 to $1,049.60 - weakest since November 2.
Gold pressured as euro fell below key $1.37, the lowest level since May. CitiFX recommends exiting short euro/dollar trade as heavy support seen at $1.36 area. Rise in sovereign risk in eurozone countries to increase risk aversion, weighing heavily on gold, said James Steel of HSBC. April briefly traded higher after US January jobs report.
Payrolls fell unexpectedly in January, but unemployment rate surprisingly dropped to a five-month low. Sell-off may be buying opportunity as institutional players allocating more to gold in long term, said HSBC's Steel. Gold-to-oil ratio at 14.53, against 14.52 in the previous session. COMEX estimated 10 am volume at 137,615 contracts.
Spot gold at $1,058.35, against $1,062.60 in late New York business. March silver down 30 cents, or 2 percent, at $15.05 an ounce, tracking gold. Range $15.380 to $14.875 - lowest since September. COMEX estimated 10 am volume at 30,943 lots.
Spot silver at $15.02 an ounce, compared with $15.23 late in the previous session in New York. April platinum down $27.40, or 1.8 percent, to $1,487.90 an ounce as weaker economic sentiment hurts industrial metals. Spot platinum at $1,484.50 an ounce. March palladium down $14.10, or 3.5 percent, at $394.30 an ounce, taking the lead from platinum. Spot palladium at $391.50 an ounce.
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