US gold futures were lower on Thursday but had retraced sharp early losses, and dealers said bullion should be supported by chart-based strength ahead of Friday's US payrolls report. The August gold contract on Comex division of New York Mercantile Exchange was down $7.10 at $876.60 an ounce at 10:27 am EDT (1427 GMT).
August futures tumbled to a low of $867.70. They peaked at $883.30. Gold looks weak on charts but should hold at key support levels between $850 and $860 an ounce, with a test down to $800 highly unlikely, said Ralph Preston, HeritageWestFutures.com futures analyst.
Bullion investors positioning ahead of closely watched May US payrolls data due Friday, which could set gold's future direction based on dollar's movement, Preston added. Comex estimated 9:00 am volume at 64,776 lots. Spot gold was quoted at $873.90/874.90 an ounce, compared with $878.30/879.70 in late Wednesday trade. July platinum was down $13.80 at $1,981.10 an ounce.
Spot platinum was quoted at $1,970.50/1,990.50. September palladium was down $3.50 at $427.50 an ounce. Spot palladium was quoted at $422/430. July silver futures were up 14.0 cents at $17.080 an ounce. Ranged $16.505 to $17.225. Spot silver was at $17.04/17.10 an ounce versus the $16.81/16.87 late quote of Wednesday.