Gold barely moved on Thursday and held near a 3-week low after the dollar bounced against the euro, prompting investors to liquidate some of their holdings. Gold was at $905.75/906.75 an ounce, hardly changed from $905.50/906.70 an ounce late in New York on Wednesday, when it hit an intraday low of $897.10 an ounce it's weakest since April 3.
While the long-term outlook for gold remained bullish given record-high oil and expectations of further interest rate cuts in the United States, attempts to revisit a lifetime high of $1,030.80 hit on March 17 have been met by profit taking. "I think it's not impossible that we'd see gold prices get in back to the high $900s or even the low $1,000s," said David Moore, an analyst at Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney.
"Our view still is there's a potential for gold to spike higher over the next couple of months, although a lot would depend on what happens with the US dollar and also the Fed's implementation of monetary policy."
The US Federal Reserve's next policy meeting is due on April 29-30 and investors believe it will cut its benchmark overnight rate by a further quarter percentage point, to 2 percent. Lower rates boost gold's appeal as an alternative investment.
But in the physical sector, jewellers took advantage of the drop in prices to stock up, with main consumer India abuzz with activity during the wedding season and ahead of a religious festival. "Although the trend still carries a bearish bias, selling is likely to end in the near term and at the key supports of $890 and $872," said Pradeep Unni, analyst at Vision Commodities Services in Dubai.
The euro fell to $1.5859, having reached an all-time high above $1.60 this week. The dollar rose to 103.58 yen but stayed below a two-month high of 104.66 hit last week. Gold futures for June delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell $1.7 an ounce to $907.3 an ounce.
Platinum regained $2,000 after a sharp drop in the day triggered bargain hunting. Tokyo platinum futures were also off lows. Spot platinum rose to $2,001/2,011 an ounce from $1,991.50/2,001.50 late in New York.
The most active Tokyo platinum futures fell 6 yen per gram to 6,521 yen but off an intraday low of 6,417 yen. Both cash and futures markets had been under pressure after Mitsui Mining and Smelting Co Ltd said it has developed a new catalyst for diesel engine cars that replaces platinum with much-cheaper silver. Silver edged up to $17.15/17.21 an ounce from $17.14/17.20 an ounce. Spot palladium rose to $445/450 an ounce from $441.50/447.50 an ounce.