* Dollar ticks higher, oil prices post losses
* Silver hits 10-week low, pressured by dollar, base metals
(Releads, updates prices)
By Jan Harvey
LONDON, July 13 (Reuters) - Gold edged lower on Monday as an
uptick in the dollar against a basket of currencies dented
interest in the precious metal as a currency hedge, and as oil
prices slipped.
Silver fell to a 10-week low in early trade as a fall in
industrial metals added to downward pressure exerted by weaker
gold prices, and may face fresh losses if the dollar firms.
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Spot gold <XAU=> was bid at $910.60 an ounce at 1458 GMT,
against $912.15 an ounce late on Friday, having earlier touched
a low of $907.40.
U.S. gold futures for August delivery <GCQ9> on the COMEX
division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell $1.80 to
$910.70 an ounce.
"The oil price, the dollar and weakness in other metals such
as silver and platinum are putting some pressure on gold," said
Commerzbank analyst Eugen Weinberg.
The U.S. currency <.DXY> edged higher against a basket of
currencies on Monday. A stronger dollar makes gold more
expensive for holders of other currencies, and dents interest in
bullion as a currency hedge. []
The dollar has re-emerged as the chief driver of the gold
price in recent months, after taking a back seat to risk
aversion and falling stocks earlier in the year.
On other markets, oil, the bellwether of the commodities
group, slipped more than $1 a barrel on concerns over the
outlook for the global economy. []
European equities turned positive by midday on Monday after
hitting an 11-week low earlier in the day, while U.S. stocks
rose as financial stocks were lifted by analysts' comments.
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VULNERABLE
Gold, which fell 2 percent last week as dollar strength and
losses in other commodities pressured prices, was seen as
vulnerable to further losses from here, with the $900 an ounce
level of support keenly eyed.
"I don't expect prices to stabilise here," said Weinberg.
"We will see a stronger dollar, and we will see gold below $900,
which will trigger further technical selling."
Inflows into gold-backed exchange-traded funds have eased
dramatically since the first quarter.
Holdings of the largest, New York's SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>,
were unchanged for a second consecutive session on Friday,
though the smaller European ETFs have reported some activity in
recent weeks. []
Other precious metals also slipped, with silver tracking
gold and base metals down to hit a fresh 10-week low of $12.44
an ounce. It was later at $12.52 an ounce against $12.65. The
gold-silver ratio has risen to 73 from about 62 in early May.
"The decline in the Comex net speculative long position has
accompanied an increase in the gold/silver ratio," said UBS
analyst John Reade in a note. "Further long liquidation on Comex
could see this ratio back up towards 80."
Silver's 5 percent price fall last week has helped take its
14-day relative strength index -- a measure of how overbought or
oversold a commodity is, with an RSI of 30 or less suggesting a
metal's price fall has gone too far -- to under 15 on Monday.
Platinum <XPT=> was at $1,092 an ounce against $1,104.50,
while palladium <XPD=> was at $227 against $232.
(Reporting by Jan Harvey; Editing by William Hardy)
