July 20, 2003	Sunday	Jumadi-ul-Awwal 19, 1424

NEW YORK, July 19: COMEX gold futures on Friday closed at their highest mark since Monday, bolstered by US dollar weakness, as dealers focused on volatile currency markets in slim trading, market sources said.

Gold neared the top of its recent range as the euro rose to a 3-day high versus the dollar at $1.1282 in a technical rally. Gold and the greenback often move in opposite directions as a softer dollar makes dollar-denominated gold cheaper in key markets like Europe and Asia.

It’s a good day for the gold. It seems to be almost all euro-driven action today, said Tom Boustead, an analyst at Refco LLC in New York. I think the ring was a bit short early on, but traders said a decent-sized order came in and helped pop it at the $345 level.

August futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange’s COMEX division settled $3 higher at $347.30 an ounce, close to the high-end of a session range of $342.90 to $347.80.

It is a positive close because it is above the 100-day moving average at $346.70, said Boustead.

Trade buying also has supported gold prices in recent days above the $340 area, which is near the closely-watched 200-day moving average. But resistance at $349 and $350 kept the precious metal range-bound.

Pioneer Futures analyst Scott Meyers said most of the buying was by locals as summer conditions were thin. It’s all dollar-driven, but it’s still stuck between $340 and $350.

Final estimated turnover was 32,000 contracts, against Thursday’s official tally of 39,883 lots.

Spot gold fetched $346.95/7.65, above the prior late New York quote at $344.20/4.70. London bullion dealers fixed the afternoon spot reference price at $344.35.

In other metals, COMEX September silver rose 5.2 cents to $4.73 an ounce, trading $4.63-$4.74. Spot silver climbed to $4.70/72 from $4.66/68 previously.

NYMEX platinum softened after shooting higher on technical fund buying Thursday.

October futures lost $2.80 to $684.60 an ounce. Spot platinum was quoted at $684.50/691.50.—Reuters