NEW YORK, Nov 25 (Reuters) - COMEX gold fell early Monday as a firm dollar prompted longs to square for a shortened week featuring a slew of important U.S. economic data followed by a four-day holiday weekend.
The COMEX will be closed on Thursday and Friday in observance of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.
At 0905, EST December gold was down $3 at $317.90 an ounce, trading from $321.20 to $316.90 and unwinding a $3.40 rally on Friday.
December longs are being rolled into the February contract before delivery notices start Wednesday. Dealers expect February to become the active contract Tuesday.
Spot bullion was at $317.95/8.45, down from Friday's close at $321.10/60. London bullion dealers fixed the morning spot reference price at $319.50 on Monday.
"There's some dealer selling, some fund selling -- it's been mixed," said a floor broker. "The market just moved so quickly because there wasn't much there. There wasn't any real support in the market holding it where we gained on Friday."
The euro drooped overnight to its lowest since the start of the month, making bullion less affordable for European investors and fabricators, and was last quoted at $0.9912/15.
There was little reaction to Friday's CFTC Commitments of Traders report showing the net speculative long gold position on the COMEX rose fractionally to 37,856 contracts last Tuesday from 36,907 contracts the week before.
The gold market seems to be seeking neutral territory before the holiday weekend. Few want to be short with United Nations arms inspectors in Iraq and violence flaring up again in the Kashmir region on the tense border of nuclear neighbors India and Pakistan.
The market was waiting for a first glance at third quarter U.S. Gross Domestic Product figures on Tuesday, to see if the economy was pulling out of a soft patch.
Consumer confidence indicators were also hotly anticipated Tuesday, as were Wednesday's personal income, spending and durable goods figures.
December silver was down 8.3 cents at $4.46 an ounce, in a $4.535 to $4.455 range. Spot silver was at $4.46/48, off from $4.53/55 at the close. It fixed at $4.50.
By Wednesday March will be the active silver contract.
NYMEX January platinum was off $2.90 at $587.00 an ounce. Spot platinum was at $586/590.
December palladium was $5 lower at a contract low of $267 an ounce. Spot palladium was at $258/268.
Palladium continued to sag on a dismal outlook for demand. It hit a four-year low in Tokyo, as investors on the TOCOM took advantage of low liquidity to knock it lower.
The market appears to have concluded that the plan by Russia's Norilsk Nickel to buy U.S.-based Stillwater Mining for $100 million in cash and 876,000 ounces of palladium would not prop up prices.
"With industrial demand for palladium dwindling, with major inventory holders of palladium reportedly selling into the market, and now with 876,000 ounces of palladium more available to the marketplace, it is, of course, no wonder that this market was sold off heavily," wrote Leonard Kaplan, president of Prospector Asset Management in a daily commentary.