Gold was steady near its highest level in two weeks on Thursday due to a firmer euro and purchases from jewellers, but volume was thin ahead of a long Easter holiday break.
Bullion ended the first quarter more than a percent higher on buying driven by volatile currencies, firm stock markets and oil as well as euro zone debt but it has struggled to sustain gains since hitting record above $1,200 an ounce last December.
Gold hit an intraday high of $1,115.10 an ounce, not far from Wednesday's near two-week peak of $1,117.90, before easing slightly after the release of China's PMI data which ignited some concerns about a monetary tightening.
By 0237 GMT, spot gold [XAU= 1115.75 2.95 (+0.27%) ] was at $1,112.90 an ounce, barely moved from New York's notional close on Wednesday. Technically, gold was below the 100-day moving average but hovered above the closely watched 50-day moving average.
"Volume is light so it's easy to push up the market. The dollar seems to be a bit weaker because the Greek problem has eased a bit," said Ronald Leung, director of Lee Cheong Gold Dealer in Hong Kong, referring to the Greek debt crisis.
"I think we can say there will be some resistance ahead at $1,125 to $1,130," he added.
U.S. gold futures for June delivery hardly changed at $1,103.7 ounce. It ended 1 percent higher on Wednesday as the dollar slipped against the euro after an ADP report showed a surprising decline in U.S. private sector jobs in March.
Bullion markets in Singapore, Indonesia, India, Malaysia and Australia will be closed for Good Friday but Japan is open and investors will be waiting for U.S. non-farm payrolls that could set the tone for currencies.
Analysts are expecting the government payrolls report on Friday to show the economy added 190,000 jobs in March, albeit aided by temporary government hiring for the 2010 U.S. Census.
The euro gained in early trade on Thursday, rising to $1.3517, from $1.3510 late on Wednesday, but it remained vulnerable to sovereign risk festering in the background.
"There's a bit of buying and selling in the physical side but there's not much going on ahead of the Easter holiday," said a dealer in Hong Kong. "Gold follows currencies after the euro rebounded last night," he added.
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust [GLD 108.95 0.98 (+0.91%) ], said its holdings stood at 1,129.823 tons as of April 1, unchanged from the previous business day. Silver[XAG= Unavailable () ] and platinum [XPT= Unavailable () ] held near Wednesday's high, while palladium [XPD= Unavailable () ]was within sight of its strongest level in two years.
Palladium and platinum prices began to rally after ETF Securities Ltd launched the first U.S. PGM exchange traded funds in early January, which now have about 900,000 ounces of the combined metals.
