NEW YORK, Feb 1: COMEX gold ended on Friday with modest losses as both the dollar and US equities charged higher on several strong economic reports, but gold traders said they expect the incessant threat of war with Iraq hanging in the foreground to keep a bid under gold prices.

Considering the strong equity rally and the selloff in the euro, I think gold’s performance held up fairly well, said one New York gold dealer.

Active April futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange’s COMEX division finished $0.60 cent lower at $369.10 an ounce, after trading between $368 to $372.70 an ounce.

Final COMEX gold volume was seen at 50,000 lots on Friday, a significant contraction from Thursday’s 82,505 tally.

Spot gold was quoted at $368.10/8.85 an ounce late Friday, down from Thursday’s close at $369.75/0.50. London’s late gold fix was set at $367.60.

Some analysts viewed the surprising increase in the Midwest business gauge as an indication that US first quarter growth may be improving over the fourth quarter’s paltry 0.7 per cent rate. Other analysts saw the healthy report as a barometer of the national measure, due out on Monday.

Some gold investors, with heavy long positions, sold off their holdings on the healthy economic news.

After the close on Friday, the CFTC reported its Commitment of Traders for gold for the week ended January 28, 2003. It said gold funds held net long positions of 56,867 lots in the latest week, fewer than the 61,682 in the prior week.

Speculators were net long by 55,983, an increase over the 46,590 net long positions held a week earlier.—Reuters