Forex

Gold ended slightly higher on Monday ahead of key economic data due later this week, while platinum rebounded following last week's heavy losses on fears of lower autocatalyst demand because of poor US auto sales.

Bullion's alternative investment appeal received a boost as US stocks weakened due to worries about the financial sector. A lower dollar and oil's rise also lifted the yellow metal.

Gold was at $928.45/929.65 by New York's last quote at 2:15 p.m. EDT, up from $927.40/929.40, its level late in New York on Friday, when it moved in a volatile $16 range.

UBS analyst John Reade said light summer liquidity conditions were partly to blame for Monday's directionless trade.

"We have nonfarm payrolls this week, which is always the biggest event in the forex market," he added. "People tend not to trade too much ahead of that."

US gold futures for August delivery settled up 90 cents at $927.70 an ounce on the COMEX division of New York Mercantile Exchange.

Oil prices meanwhile are underpinning gold. Crude bounced back after its $20-a-barrel slide of the last two weeks, boosting interest in gold as an inflation hedge, and in commodities as an asset class.

Crude futures rose above $124 a barrel on Monday as fresh attacks on oil installations in major producer Nigeria fuelled fears over the outlook for supply.

The dollar also weakened a touch against the euro, adding to the appeal of gold as an alternative investment, as investors concluded the US economic climate remains poor.
Investor interest in the metal has steadied.

Holdings of the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the SPDR Gold Trust, were unchanged on Monday at 673.4 tonnes. The amount of gold held to back ETF Securities' Physical Gold ETC PHAU.L rose 1 % week-on-week.