(Corrects data events for Friday)
SINGAPORE, April 1 (Reuters) - - Gold dropped on Friday before the release of U.S. non-farm payrolls report which could underpin the dollar and weigh on bullion, while ETF holdings posted their biggest quarterly decline ever.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold fell $4.33 an ounce to $1,432.15 an ounce by 0100 GMT, having risen nearly 1 percent on Thursday on inflation worries sparked by rallies in oil and grain prices. Gold was below a lifetime high around $1,447 struck last week.
* U.S. gold futures for April dropped $6.2 an ounce to $1,432.7 an ounce.
* The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, New York's SPDR Gold Trust , posted in the first three months of 2011 its biggest quarterly drop since inception, as the prospect of interest rate hikes and gains in other commodities drove investors to sell. [ID:nL3E7ET161]
* U.S. nonfarm payrolls are expected to have increased a solid 190,000 after rising 192,000 in February, according to a Reuters survey, with the unemployment rate seen holding steady at a near two-year low of 8.9 percent. [ID:nN31253973]
MARKET NEWS
* The dollar drifted off lows versus the euro and particularly against commodity currencies early in Asia on Friday following more hawkish comments from a senior Federal Reserve official.
* U.S. crude prices rose to a 2-1/2 year high on Friday, boosted by worries a protracted conflict in OPEC member Libya could keep its oil exports shut.
* Japan's Nikkei average opened little changed on Friday as a weaker yen provided support after posting solid gains over the last two sessions, but investors were reluctant to take large positions ahead of U.S. jobs data later in the day.
DATA EVENTS (GMT)
1230 U.S. Employment/Payrolls Feb 2011 1400 U.S. Construction Spending Feb 2011 1400 U.S. Institute Supply Mgt Mar 2011
0230 China HSBC PMI Mar 2011 0500 India HSBC Markit Mfg PMI Mar 2011 0500 Russia Manufacturing PMI Mar 2011 0743 Italy Markit/ADACI Mfg PMI Mar 2011 0753 Germany Markit/BME Mfg PMI Mar 2011 0758 EZ Markit Mfg PMI Mar 2011 Precious metals prices 0100 GMT Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover Spot Gold 1432.15 -4.33 -0.30 0.89 Spot Silver 37.66 0.06 +0.16 22.03 Spot Platinum 1763.99 -2.31 -0.13 -0.20 Spot Palladium 764.22 5.87 +0.77 -4.41 TOCOM Gold 3850.00 48.00 +1.26 3.24 32673 TOCOM Platinum 4768.00 30.00 +0.63 1.53 4399 TOCOM Silver 101.10 1.00 +1.00 24.81 915 TOCOM Palladium 2072.00 52.00 +2.57 -1.19 194 Euro/Dollar 1.4164 Dollar/Yen 83.44 TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Reporting by Lewa Pardomuan; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
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