Gold rose on Friday on bargain hunting but was within sight of its lowest level in nearly two months hit the previous day, while Tokyo futures extended losses. Spot gold gained to $658.70/659.40 an ounce from $657.30/658.80 late in New York on Thursday, when it dropped to as low as $653.40 an ounce its lowest since March 20.
Key April 2008 gold futures on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange fell 11 yen per gram to 2,597 yen. Selling from liquidation in bullion exchange-traded funds and chart-based sales sent US gold futures to a lower finish for a second straight day on Thursday.
Streetcar's gold shares, the world's largest gold ETFs, accounting for more than 80 percent of the metal held by all such funds, dropped 8 tonnes of its bullion in one day on Wednesday.
The euro was steady at $1.3494. Platinum rose to $1,308/1,310 an ounce from $1,300/1,305 in New York. Palladium rose to $358/363 an ounce from $356/360. Silver edged up to $12.84/12.87 an ounce from $12.81/12.86 late in New York on Thursday, when it tumbled to its lowest in two months at $12.68 an ounce.