SINGAPORE: Gold was on track for its biggest monthly decline since 1983 on Friday after crude oil fell on recession worries and a firmer dollar. -- Gold was trading at $730.60 an ounce, down $4.90 from New York's notional close on Thursday, when it rose for a fourth straight day to its strongest in a week at $776.30 an ounce. -- U.S. crude futures extended their decline to near $65 a barrel on Friday as weak economic data rekindled demand worries, which in theory reduces gold's appeal as a hedge against inflation. -- The euro dipped to $1.2770, making dollar-priced gold more expensive to buy for holders of other currencies. -- Platinum was trading at $800.00 ounce, down $17 from New York's notional close. -- New York gold futures fell $7.4 an ounce to $731.1. Precious metals prices at 0034 GMT Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover Spot Gold 730.60 -4.90 -0.67 -12.26 Spot Silver 9.62 -0.04 -0.41 -34.87 Spot Platinum 800.00 -17.00 -2.08 -47.37 Spot Palladium 191.50 -5.50 -2.79 -47.96 TOCOM Gold 2307.00 -142.00 -5.80 -24.61 9099 TOCOM Platinum 2508.00 -242.00 -8.80 -53.02 3550 TOCOM Silver 300.00 -23.70 -7.32 -44.55 259 TOCOM Palladium 625.00 -32.00 -4.87 -53.74 256 Euro/Dollar 1.2781 Dollar/Yen 98.16 TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.

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