* Gold near one-week high on weak dollar
* Dealers await May U.S. Producer Price Index
* Silver and palladium hover near highs
(Updates prices, adds activity in physical market)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, June 17 (Reuters) - Gold steadied on Tuesday,
hovering near its highest level in a week with any dip in the
dollar likely to spur another round of buying from speculators.
Silver slipped but also held near a one-week high,
palladium was within sight of its highest level in nearly two
months and platinum firmed.
Gold <XAU=> was at $883.10/884.10 an ounce, steady from
$883.60/884.80 an ounce late in New York on Monday, when it
jumped as high as $894.70 an ounce on a weaker U.S. dollar,
still well below a record high of $1,030.80 hit in mid-March.
"For the short rununtil end of the week, if gold is able to
get outof its trading range above $900, gold mightretest $930
and $955," said William Kwan, bullion director of Gold Capital
Management in Singapore.
The dollar fell against the euro and the yen after a media
report that Federal Reserve officials believe financial markets
have gone too far in their expectations for U.S. interest rate
increases. <USD/>
Oil <CLc1> slipped 2 cents to $134.59 a barrel, after a
rally to a record $139.89.
In the physical sector, high gold prices triggered light
selling from investors and jewellers in Vietnam and Thailand,
but Indonesia, which is Southeast Asia's largest consumer, was
on the sidelines.
"I think some people are not sure whether they should buy
now before the price rises again but definitely $900 is the
target. I would say we have to watch oil and dollar," said a
dealer in Singapore.
Premiums for gold bars were steady at 70 U.S. an ounce to
the spot London prices in Singapore <GOLD/ASIA1>.
Gold futures for August delivery <GCQ8> on the COMEX
division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell $1.0 an ounce
to $885.4.
Dealers awaited Tuesday's release of the May U.S. Producer
Price Index, said Ronald Leung, director of Lee Cheong Gold
Dealers in Hong Kong.
"I think we are waiting for fresh news. There's PPI tonight
and there maybe some sanctions to be imposed on Iran," said
Leung, adding that gold would trade in a range of $850 to $900
in coming days.
Silver <XAG=> edged down to $17.15/17.22 an ounce from
$17.16/17.22 late in New York on Monday, when it jumped to a
one-week high of $17.40 due to a weaker dollar and gains in
gold.
Spot platinum <XPT=> rose to $2,050.00/2,060.00 an ounce
from $2,038.50/2,058.50 late in New York.
Spot palladium <XPD=> edged down to $455.00/463.00 an ounce
from $456.50/464.50. It hit a high of $460 an ounce on Monday,
its strongest level since April 18, catching up with gains in
other precious metals.
The most active Tokyo platinum contract for April 2009
delivery <0#JPL:> on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange rose 63 yen
per gram to 6,968 yen.
Precious metals prices at 0444 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 883.10 1.80 +0.20 6.05
Spot Silver 17.16 0.07 +0.41 16.18
Spot Platinum 2050.00 11.50 +0.56 34.87
Spot Palladium 455.50 -2.50 -0.55 23.78
TOCOM Gold 3086.00 35.00 +1.15 0.85
28344
TOCOM Platinum 6969.00 64.00 +0.93 30.53
13867
TOCOM Silver 600.60 19.90 +3.43 11.02
858
TOCOM Palladium 1623.00 37.00 +2.33 20.13
1930
Euro/Dollar 1.5526
Dollar/Yen 107.87
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Ben Tan)
