* Gold higher as investors hunt bargains
* Platinum and palladium near 6-month lows
* Market awaits U.S. jobless claims, home sales data
(Recasts, changes dateline, pvs SINGAPORE)
By Raissa Kasolowsky
LONDON, July 24 (Reuters) - Gold rose slightly on Thursday
after an earlier two-week low attracted bargain hunters, though
a firming dollar and falling oil prices posed downside risks.
Gold <XAU=> rose to $927.30/928.30 an ounce at 1000 GMT from
$921.35/922.95 late in New York on Wednesday. Earlier in the
session the precious metal hit an intraday low of $916.40 -- its
weakest since July 9.
"It might be some people thinking yesterday's sell-off was
overdone," said Walter de Wet, analyst at Standard Bank.
"But if the dollar stays below $1.57 (against the euro),
then gold is going to start coming off."
The euro <EUR=> fell to a two-week low against the dollar
after a slew of weak European economic data highlighted slowing
growth and cooled expectations of more interest rate rises.
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A stronger greenback usually pressures gold, which is often
bought as an alternative investment to the U.S. currency.
Oil dipped to seven-week lows on Thursday due to increasing
signs that high prices and economic weakness were slowing demand
in the world's top consumer United States. []
Gold typically moves in the same direction as crude, as it
is often bought as a hedge against oil-led inflation.
Investors will be watching out for data releases from the
United States, including U.S. initial and four-week average
jobless claims, due at 1230 GMT, and U.S. existing home sale
units for June, due at 1400 GMT.
PLATINUM
Platinum and palladium remained under pressure amid fears
about demand from car manufacturers, with both metals near
six-month lows.
Platinum prices in particular have slipped sharply over the
last 10 days. The metal is currently trading nearly 25 percent
below its March record high of $2,290 an ounce.
Both platinum and palladium are widely used in car
manufacturing as a component in catalytic converters.
"Current platinum prices strike us as approaching oversold
levels," said James Steel, analyst at HSBC, in a research note.
"We base this on the likelihood that auto catalyst platinum
demand outside the U.S. will grow this year based on increased
vehicle production. Also platinum producers faced a host of
non-power related obstacles to increasing mine output."
Spot platinum <XPT=> touched a session low of $1,702.00 an
ounce, its weakest level since Janaury 31, before recovering to
trade at $1,732.00/1,752.00 against $1,744.00/1,764.00 an ounce
in New York.
Spot palladium <XPD=> rose to $389.00/392.00 an ounce from
$383.00/391.00 late in New York, having earlier touched an
intraday low of $371.50, its lowest since January 25.
Among other precious metals, spot silver traded slightly
higher to $17.57/17.63 an ounce, against $17.33/17.38 late in
New York on Wednesday.
(Reporting by Raissa Kasolowsky, Editing by Peter Blackburn)
