* Gold pressured as investors skeptical of recovery
* Precious metals curbed by weaker economic sentiment
* Platinum focuses on GM's emergence from bankruptcy
(Recasts, updates with quotes, closing prices, changes
dateline, previously LONDON)
By Frank Tang
NEW YORK, July 10 (Reuters) - Gold futures finished lower
in quiet trade on Friday as the stronger dollar and tumbling
oil prices signaled lingering worries over economic growth and
diminished bullion's appeal as an inflation hedge.
The precious metal held above $900 an ounce but lost nearly
$20 to end near a two-month low for the week. Gold was weighed
down by deflation fears and broad-based commodities weakness
stemming from U.S. regulatory pressure to limit speculation in
energy and metals markets.
"People are now a little skeptical about whether the green
shoots are actually happening, and that is taking a lot of
momentum out of the gold market," said Tom Hartmann, analyst at
California-based Altavest.
"There had been a lot of talk about inflation, inflation,
inflation due to all the government spending, but none of that
is going to happen until you have economic growth," he said.
U.S. August futures <GCQ9> settled down $3.70 at $912.50 an
ounce on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile
Exchange.
Spot gold <XAU=> was at $912.85 an ounce at 2:20 p.m. EDT
(1820 GMT), against $911.45 an ounce in New York late
Thursday.
U.S. stocks extended losses on Friday. The Dow industrials
and the S&P 500 were set for their fourth weekly drop as
investors doubted whether companies can post sustainable
earnings. []
The mood of the equities market was soured by fresh data
showing July consumer sentiment hit its lowest level since
March.
Even with the stock market weakened by economic worries,
bullion has failed to rise. Muted inflation concerns have sent
flight-to-quality buying into U.S. Treasuries and the dollar.
A flight to quality could still boost gold in the future,
but a lack of imminent inflation signals has been weighing on
the metal's appeal as a hedge, market watchers said.
"I would not be getting aggressively long in gold for a
long-term play until sentiment improves with stocks and the
general economy," Hartmann said.
Other commodities also weakened. Oil, widely seen as the
bellwether of the asset class, slipped more than $1 a barrel on
Friday as economic pessimism deepened and traders worried about
new rules to curb speculation. []
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, regulator of the
U.S. futures market, will move aggressively to rein in
excessive speculation in energy and commodity markets by
focusing on expanding its existing authority and could have new
regulations in place by late October. []
[]
Among other precious metals, platinum <XPT=> touched a low
of $1,085, its weakest price since May 4, and was last at
$1,103.50 an ounce an ounce versus $1,105, while palladium
<XPD=> was at $232.50 versus $233.
A new General Motors <GMGMQ.PK> emerged from bankruptcy
protection on Friday, far more quickly than most industry
watchers had expected, and the company expected to repay loans
to the U.S. government "much sooner" than 2015 as planned.
[]
Traders focused on the potential market implications for
autocatalysts related to GM's emerging from bankruptcy
protection.
Silver <XAG=> slipped to a near 10-week low, pressured by
strength in the dollar and reflecting losses in industrial
metals such as copper on the weaker economic outlook. It was
last at $12.63 an ounce, compared with its previous finish of
$12.82.
COMEX options traders cited selling pressure related to
heavy buying of December put options with strike prices of $12
and $11.75 an ounce.
(Additional reporting by Jan Harvey in London; editing by Jim
Marshall)
