* Gold hits 5-week high above $800 before slipping
* Oil up over 2 percent, euro firms against dollar
* APEC leaders commit to quick economic action
(Update prices)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Gold slipped on Monday after
rising to a 5-week high above $800, but turmoil in the
financial markets could spur another round of safe-haven buying
as world leaders sought to prevent a severe global economic
downturn.
Gold posted its biggest daily percentage gain in almost two
months on Friday as investors rushed to buy the metal on
economic uncertainties after shares of Citigroup <C.N>, the
second-largest U.S. bank by assets, tumbled for a fifth
straight day.
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the
SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, said it held 755.06 tonnes of gold in
bank as of Nov. 21, up 3.06 tonnes fromNov. 20, reflecting a
pick up in buying from investors. []
"There was a lot of disinvestment from gold, and I think
when the opportunity arrives, we might see investors diversify
back into gold," said David Moore, commodities analyst at
Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney.
"I think it's quite possible that gold will continue to
firm," he said.
Gold <XAU=> was trading at $792.95 an ounce, up $6.50 from
New York's notional close on Friday, when it gained more than 7
percent. Gold hit a high of $805.85 on Monday on a firm euro
currency and oil before the buying subsided, mainly due to the
absence of Japanese investors.
Tokyo markets were closed for the Labour Thanksgiving Day.
With financial markets in chaos, the United States, China,
Japan and 18 other economies in Asia and the Americas promised
to "take all necessary economic and financial measures to
resolve this crisis". []
Gold has bounced more than 16 percent since falling to a
13-month low of $680.80 in October, when a sell-off in equities
forced investors to sell bullion to cover losses. Despite the
rebound, gold was still 23 percent below a record high of
$1,030.80 hit in March.
"It's difficult to say whether this will continue but from
my point of view, I think it could hover around those regions
for a while," said Adrian Koh, analyst at Phillip Futures in
Singapore.
"Probably some people will book profits and maybe that will
place a bit of a pressure on gold in the near-term," said Koh,
adding that gold was currently below the 100-day and 200-day
averages around $830 and $873 an ounce.
Speculative gold players in the non-commercial category
boosted their net long positions to 64,829 on gold futures
traded on COMEX at Nov. 18, from 63,959 long lots at Nov. 11,
Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed on Friday.
The euro <EUR=> edged up to $1.2606 as the market awaited
confirmation of reports that Citigroup had cut a deal with the
government to warehouse some of its assets. []
Oil <CLc1> gained more than 2 percent to around $51 a
barrel, which in theory boosted gold's appeal as a hedge
against inflation. []
Platinum <XPT=> traded at $815.50 an ounce, up $4.00 from
New York's notional close, to track early gains in gold.
New York gold futures <GCZ8> rose $2.3 an ounce to $794.1.
Precious metals prices at 0257 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 792.95 -6.50 -0.81 -4.77
Spot Silver 9.53 -0.09 -0.94 -35.48
Spot Platinum 815.50 4.00 +0.49 -46.35
Spot Palladium 176.00 -4.00 -2.22 -52.17
Euro/Dollar 1.2619
Dollar/Yen 95.35
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)
