* Gold falls to two-week low as oil extends losses
* Platinum hits 6-month trough on demand fears
* Tokyo gold and platinum futures hit by fund selling
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, July 24 (Reuters) - Gold struck a two-week low
on Thursday, losing some of of its safe-haven appeal after oil
extended losses and stock markets rose, while platinum tumbled
to its weakest in six months.
Platinum has been hit fears of falling demand from car makers
including General Motors <GM.N> and Toyota Motor Corp <7203.T>
due to a slowing U.S. economy. Autocatalysts account for around
35 percent of global demand for the metal.
Gold <XAU=> fell as low as $916.40 an ounce, its lowest
since July 9, down from $921.35/922.95 late in New York on
Wednesday -- well below a record high of $1,030.80 hit in
March.
"Weaker oil prices, a stronger dollar, and both of those
are negative for gold. I just think there's a good possibility
that we might see a continuation of a fall in oil prices," said
Darren Heathcote of Investec Australia in Sydney.
"I've got to say I didn't foresee gold sort of breaking
through the $936 area as easily as it did. But now it's here.
We've got to be targeting $912-$904 or something like that," he
said.
Oil <CLc1> extended losses and hit a seven-week low of
$123.98 a barrel after data showed a larger-than-expected
increase in domestic U.S. gasoline stocks last week. []
Japan's Nikkei average <> climbed 1.23 percent.
In theory, a weaker oil price reduces gold's appeal as a
hedge against inflation, and rising stock markets dim its
appeal as an alternative investment.
Spot platinum <XPT=> dropped to $1,721.00/1,741.00 an ounce
from $1,744.00/1,764.00 an ounce. It tumbled to $1,707 an ounce
on Thursday, its lowest level since late January.
"I am bearish on precious metals for now, particularly
platinum and palladium. Their charts looks quite bad," said a
dealer in Singapore.
"The next support is $1,684 but if we break this level,
it's a long long way down to the $1,590 regions," he said.
Platinum struck a record at $2,290 in March after an
electricity shortage that disrupted mining in main producer
South Africa triggered speculative buying, but a combination of
profit taking and demand fears erased most of the gains.
Spot palladium <XPD=> fell to $372.50/380.50 an ounce from
$383.00/391.00 late in New York. It hit an intraday low of
$371.50 an ounce, its lowest level since Jan. 25.
Palladium is also used in jewellery and autocatalysts.
Silver <XAG=> edged down to $17.29/17.35 an ounce from
$17.33/17.38 late in New York.
Gold futures for August delivery <GCQ8> on the COMEX
division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell $4.2 to
$918.60 an ounce.
The most active Tokyo gold contract for June 2009 delivery
<0#JPL:> on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange fell 63 yen per gram
to 3,212 yen.
Precious metals prices at 0157 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 918.90 -0.85 -0.09 10.35
Spot Silver 17.31 -0.02 -0.12 17.20
Spot Platinum 1710.00 -32.00 -1.84 12.50
Spot Palladium 375.00 -4.50 -1.19 1.90
TOCOM Gold 3214.00 -61.00 -1.86 5.03
30319
TOCOM Platinum 5862.00 -221.00 -3.63 9.80
18384
TOCOM Silver 604.20 -14.60 -2.36 11.68
640
TOCOM Palladium 1322.00 -66.00 -4.76 -2.15
1430
Euro/Dollar 1.5692
Dollar/Yen 107.80
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Michael Urquhart)
