(Updates prices)
By Maryelle Demongeot
SINGAPORE, May 27 (Reuters) - Gold rose on Tuesday as
further supply disruptions in Nigeria, the world's
eighth-largest oil producer, and a weaker dollar made the
precious metal increasingly attractive.
Spot gold <XAU=> stood at $926.30/927.30 an ounce by 0629
GMT, having earlier risen above $930, and up from
$925.20/926.60 in New York late last week.
Both Britain and the United States were closed for public
holidays on Monday.
A rise in oil prices above $133 on production problems in
the North Sea over the weekend and in Nigeria on Monday when
rebels blew up a pipeline, drove gold higher on Tuesday.
"I am tracking oil prices for direction. And the dollar is
still weakening," said Ronald Leung, director of Lee Cheong
Gold Dealers in Hong Kong.
"If gold holds above $910, it could go up to $950. If it
falls below $910, it could go back to the $800s," he added.
Oil bellwether NYMEX crude oil <LCOc1> was up 91 cents at
$133.10 by 0631 GMT, having climbed earlier to $133.46 after
rebels from Nigeria's southern Niger Delta blew up a Royal
Dutch Shell <RDSa.L> oil pipeline on Monday, forcing the firm
to cut production.
Spot gold rose as high as $935.30 last Thursday, its
highest level in a month, on the day that oil prices rose above
$135.00.
Noncommercial investors in U.S. gold futures turned bullish
last week, hiking their long positions by around 20 percent in
the week to May 20, data from the U.S. Commodity Futures
Trading Commission showed on Friday.
Noncommercial investors, often referred to as speculators,
were net long on 182,119 lots of gold on the New York
Mercantile Exchange's COMEX metals division, up from 152,938
lots a week earlier. []
Further adding to bullion's attractiveness as an alternate
currency, the U.S. dollar remained close to one-month lows
against a basket of currencies on Tuesday as investors expect
economic data and speeches by Federal Reserve officials to
provide a clearer picture of the deteriorating economy. []
A weak dollar elevates gold's appeal as an alternative
investment.
The dollar index <.DXY> was within sight of one-month lows
of 71.823 struck last week, as it stood at 72.085 <.DXY> on
Tuesday morning.
Gold futures for June delivery <GCM8> on the COMEX division
of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose $0.60 to $926.40 an
ounce.
Benchmark April gold <0#JAU:> on the Tokyo Commodity
Exchange was up 12 yen at 3,117 yen per gram, having settled
unchanged on Monday.
Spot platinum <XPT=> rose to $2,182.50/2,202.50 an ounce
from $2,156.50/2,176.50 late in New York on Friday.
The most active Tokyo platinum futures contract for April
<0#JPL:> was up another 42 yen to 7,085 yen per gram, having
settled 40 yen higher on Monday.
Silver <XAG=> was largely steady from last week at
$18.22/18.28 an ounce, against last Friday's $18.26 high, which
was its highest level since April 18.
Spot palladium <XPD=> was largely steady at $447/$455 an
ounce.
Precious metals prices at 0629 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 926.50 -1.60 -0.17 11.26
Spot Silver 18.22 -0.04 -0.22 23.36
Spot Platinum 2184.00 9.00 +0.41 43.68
Spot Palladium 447.00 0.00 +0.00 21.47
TOCOM Gold 3117.00 12.00 +0.39 1.86
28147
TOCOM Platinum 7085.00 42.00 +0.60 32.70
15201
TOCOM Silver 613.40 2.90 +0.48 13.38
617
TOCOM Palladium 1530.00 11.00 +0.72 13.25
743
Euro/Dollar 1.5762
Dollar/Yen 103.77
Note - TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which
is priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
