(Updates prices)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, June 16 (Reuters) - Gold rose further Monday
after an early dip in the U.S. dollar and as recent weakness in
bullion prices spurred demand from some investors, but weaker
oil prices could cap the upside.
Gold <XAU=> rose to $871.80/872.80 an ounce from
$869.00/870.00 an ounce late in New York on Friday, when it
gained more than $1 an ounce as buyers covered short positions
before the weekend.
Gold tumbled to its lowest level in almost six weeks around
$856 last week on a firmer dollar which reduced its appeal as
an alternative investment. The metal is well below a lifetime
high of $1,030.80 hit in mid-March.
"Perhaps investors are slowly accumulating gold at the now
cheaper prices. I think gold very much depends on the dollar
now as it seemed to have gained quite a bit in the last week,"
said Adrian Koh, analyst at Philip Futures in Singapore.
"Gold's range is around $854 to $885 but technically, the
dollar looks like it could move higher, which means that gold
could be further weighed," he said.
The dollar was steady near a four-month high against the
yen, having earlier fallen on disappointment that Group of
Eight countries had failed to address the weakness of the U.S.
currency at a weekend meeting. <USD/>
But an increase in gold holdings on the exchange-traded
fund suggested investors were shifting their money back to
bullion after the recent falls in prices, said dealers.
Gold held by New York's StreetTRACKS Gold Shares, the
largest gold ETF, rose by 7.66 tonnes on Thursday to 605.21
tonnes -- its highest level since late April. <XAUEXT-NYS-TT>.
Crude oil <CLc1> fell 87 cents to $133.99 a barrel on
Monday, after falling nearly $2 on Friday on a report
suggesting a new increase in Saudi output next month. <O/R>.
In theory, weaker oil prices reduce gold's appeal as a
hedge against inflation, and there was a lack of interest from
Japanese speculators, whose purchases often push up the cash
market.
"Maybe we need to consolidate around the range of $865 to $880
to find out the next steps," said Louis Lok, a dealer at Bank
of China in Hong Kong.
"I can see the market will be kept in $3 or $4 range in
Asia," he said.
Gold futures for August delivery <GCQ8> on the COMEX
division of the New York Mercantile Exchange added $1.6 an
ounce to $874.7.
The most active Tokyo platinum contract for April 2009
delivery <0#JPL:> on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange ended the
morning session 40 yen per gram higher at 6,910 yen.
Spot platinum <XPT=> dipped to $2,022.00/2,032.00 an ounce
from $2,023.50/2,043.50 late in New York.
Silver <XAG=> edged up to $16.57/16.62 an ounce from
$16.48/16.56 late in New York. Spot palladium <XPD=> rose to
$448.00/456.00 an ounce from $445.50/453.50
Precious metals prices at 0225 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 871.95 1.15 +0.13 4.71
Spot Silver 16.57 0.05 +0.30 12.19
Spot Platinum 2022.00 -1.50 -0.07 33.03
Spot Palladium 448.00 2.50 +0.56 21.74
TOCOM Gold 3062.00 21.00 +0.69 0.07
8798
TOCOM Platinum 6910.00 40.00 +0.58 29.42
7867
TOCOM Silver 584.20 2.50 +0.43 7.99
159
TOCOM Palladium 1599.00 55.00 +3.56 18.36
2288
Euro/Dollar 1.5400
Dollar/Yen 108.27
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Reporting by Lewa Pardomuan; Editing by Michael Urquhart)
