* Gold seeing resistance at $1,140
* Silver holds near three-month high
(Updates prices)
By A. Ananthalakshmi
SINGAPORE, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Gold held just below a one-week
high on Tuesday as investors bet sluggish U.S. nonfarm payrolls
data would deter the Federal Reserve from hiking rates this
year, although some cautioned that profit taking could hurt the
metal in the near term.
Spot gold XAU= ticked up 0.1 percent to $1,137.15 an ounce
by 0629 GMT. Prices rose to $1,141.80 in the previous session,
the highest since Sept. 28, before closing down 0.2 percent.
The metal is still largely holding on to Friday's 2.2
percent jump, the biggest one-day rise since Jan. 15 following
data that showed U.S. employers slammed the brakes on hiring
over the last two months. ID:nLNN2LEBGC
"This week we think that some form of profit taking may
occur after Friday's heady gains post-U.S. nonfarm payrolls,"
say Howie Lee, an analyst at Phillip Futures.
Lee said there was a reasonably strong resistance at $1,140,
above which gold has struggled to hold in the last two sessions.
Markets believe the sluggishness in the U.S. economy, along
with weakness in China and volatility in financial markets,
could prompt the Fed to hold rates.
Non-interest-paying gold had benefited from ultra-low U.S.
rates. But expectations that the Fed will move to hike rates for
the first time in nearly a decade has seen the metal lose about
4 percent of its value this year.
However, recent U.S. data has not been robust. After last
week's soft jobs report, data on Monday showed the pace of
growth in the U.S. services sector decelerated in September as
new orders and business activity slowed. ID:nN9N118014
Meanwhile, SPDR Gold Trust GLD , the top gold-backed
exchange-traded fund, saw a small outflow of 0.22 tonnes on
Monday. That is the fund's first outflow in two weeks. GOL/ETF
Asian stocks rose on Tuesday on prospects of a delay in the
rate hike. The dollar had a mixed performance against major
currencies as the headwind from fading expectations on the Fed's
rate hike was countered by positive risk sentiment. MKTS/GLOB
Among other precious metals, silver XAG= dipped slightly
to $15.58, but stayed near a three-month high of $15.71 hit on
Monday. It has gained nearly 8 percent in the last two sessions.
Palladium XPD= slipped, after hitting its highest since
June in the previous session on expectations that demand for
gasoline cars, where the metal is used in catalysts, would rise
as a result of the Volkswagen (XETRA:VOWG) diesel engine emissions scandal.
PRICES AT 0629 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg
Spot gold 1137.15 1.55 0.14
Spot silver 15.6 -0.01 -0.06
Spot platinum 915.75 3.5 0.38
Spot palladium 686.75 -2.75 -0.4
Comex gold 1137.4 -0.2 -0.02
Comex silver 15.645 -0.063 -0.4
COMEX gold and silver contracts show the
most active months