Gold Tumbles As Dollar Gains

NEW DELHI-INDIA (Aug 29)   Gold futures tumbled in the Asia electronic session today as the dollar surged back ahead of the US GDP and the weekly employment data later today.

Gold for December delivery slumped $10.1 at $1,408.7 an ounce in electronic trading on COMEX division of New York Mercantile Exchange. Yesterday, it shed $1.40, or 0.1%, to settle at $1,418.80 an ounce after rising to as high as $1,434 an ounce earlier in the session.

The U.S. dollar edged higher against the euro and the Japanese yen Thursday as investors watched for word about possible military action against Syria. It also rose ahead of a possible upward revision to the pace of quarterly U.S. economic growth.

The ICE dollar index a measure of the U.S. unit against six rivals rose to 81.430 from 81.415 late Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar fell against the Indian rupee after Indian officials moved to help the badly beaten currency. The U.S. dollar bought 67.475 rupees, less than 68.825 rupees late Wednesday. The dollar early Thursday fell to as low as 66.780 rupees.

The rupee caught a break from its recent tumble to multi-year lows after the Reserve Bank of India on Wednesday said it will sell U.S. dollars from its reserves to three oil companies in order to meet their daily dollar requirements.

MCX October bullion are trading up nearly Rs 220 at Rs 33622 per 10 grams. It may face a resistance near Rs 33800-900 levels with support around Rs 33000-32700 levels.