US gold ends 2 pct down, near $950/oz on dlr rally

NEW YORK, June 5 (Reuters) - Gold futures fell toward $950
an ounce on Friday, losing 2 percent as a better-than-expected
U.S. jobs report sparked a dollar rally and boosted hopes for
an economic recovery, denting gold's appeal as a safe haven.

For the latest detailed report, click on [GOL/].

GOLD

* August GCQ9 settled down $19.70, or 2 percent, at
$962.60 an ounce on the COMEX division of the New York
Mercantile Exchange.

* Ranged from $953.80 to $985, which marked the weakest
price since May 28.

* Gold tumbled following news that U.S. employers cut
345,000 jobs last month, the fewest since September, a sign
that the economy's severe weakness was diminishing.
[ID:nN05274048]

* The good employment figure lessened the need for
flight-to-quality demand in gold, and a rising interest rate
environment was negative to non-interest bearing gold - Bill
O'Neill, managing partner at LOGIC Advisors.

* Sell-stops and pre-weekend selling in gold futures were
triggered after the U.S. nonfarm payroll report, which was not
inflationary and failed to spur bullion buying - George Gero,
vice president of RBC Capital Market Global Futures.

* Bullion was pressured heavily as the dollar rallied, on
track for its largest weekly gain in nearly two months against
a basket of major currencies, after the bullish jobs data.
[USD/]

* The dynamics of a bull market is still in place because
of longer-term currency debasing amid liquidity addition and
potential inflation - O'Neill.

* COMEX gold open interest rises above the 400,000 level,
up 5,776 at 401,699 lots as of June 4, indicating rising
investment interest in gold - traders.

* Gold could weaken further, as the metal has corrected
sharply after it approached the $1,000 level each time in the
past two years - analysts.

* COMEX estimated final volume at a heavy 146,101 lots.

* Gold/oil ratio at 13.95, lower than the 14.14 of the
previous session.

* Spot gold XAU= traded at $960 at 2:07 p.m. EDT (1807
GMT), down 2 percent from its late Thursday quote in New York.

* London gold fix XAUFIX= $962 an ounce.

SILVER

* July SIN9 ended down 50.7 cents, or 3.2 percent, at
$15.388 an ounce, tracking gold's sharp decline.

* Ranged from $15.160 to $15.980.

* COMEX estimated final volume at a busy 40,924 lots.

* Spot silver XAG= was at $15.32 an ounce, down 3.3
percent from its previous finish.

* London silver fix XAGFIX= at $15.650 an ounce.

PLATINUM

* July PLN9 finished down $7.10 at $1,286.20 an ounce due
to a dollar bounce after reaching above $1,300 in the previous
session.

* Platinum prices affected by an uncertain auto industry,
as the global car industry accounts for 60 percent of total
platinum demand for use in automobile catalytic converters.

* Spot platinum XPT= at $1,271.50 an ounce, down 1.5
percent from its late Thursday quote.

PALLADIUM

* September PAU9 closed up $4.40, or 1.7 percent, at
$259.80 an ounce on thin buying.

* Spot palladium XPD= was at $257 an ounce, up 1.8
percent from its previous finish.

Close Change Pct 2008 YTD

Chg Close Pct Chg
US gold GCQ9 962.60 -19.70 -2.0 884.30 8.9
US silver SIN9 15.39 -0.51 -3.2 11.30 36.2
US platinum PLN9 1286.20 -7.10 -0.5 941.50 36.6
US palladium PAU9 259.80 4.40 1.7 188.70 37.7
Prices at 2:07 p.m. EDT (1807 GMT)
Gold XAU= 960.00 -19.10 -2.0 878.20 9.3
Silver XAG= 15.32 -0.53 -3.3 11.30 35.6
Platinum XPT= 1271.50 -19.00 -1.5 924.50 37.5
Palladium XPD= 257.00 4.50 1.8 184.50 39.3
Gold Fix XAUFIX= 962.00 -8.75 -0.9 836.50 15.0
Silver Fix XAGFIX= 15.650 0.345 2.3 14.760 6.0
Platinum Fix XPTFIX= 1275.00 0.00 0.0 1529.00 -16.6
Palladium Fix XPDFIX= 257.00 0.00 0.0 365.00 -29.6
(Reporting by Frank Tang; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)