* Gold below four-month high as speculators book profits
* Oil steadies around $139 a barrel
* Cash, Tokyo platinum futures down on fears of falling
demand
(Updates prices, adds quotes)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, July 16 (Reuters) - Gold dropped on Wednesday as
speculators booked profits after the metal rose to a four-month
high the previous day, while platinum fell 2 percent on fears
of weakening demand for autocatalysts.
Jittery stock markets, worried about the future of U.S.
mortgage lenders Fannie Mae <FNM.N> and Freddie Mac <FRE.N>,
record-high oil, Middle East tensions and a volatile dollar,
have pushed up gold prices to a level not seen since March.
Gold <XAU=> fell to $970.80/971.70 an ounce from
$975.90/977.90 an ounce late in New York. Gold rose to $987.75
an on Tuesday, its highest level since March 19, before a drop
in oil and declines in other commodities erased some of the
gains.
Gold struck a lifetime high of $1,030.80 in March.
"It's a very volatile market. I think people are more
cautious about the oil prices, the dollar," said Ellison Chu,
senior manager at Standard Bank London in Hong Kong.
"I think we may have a chance to see $995 or something like
that. On the downside, we can still go back to $960."
Oil <CLc1> was little changed around $139 a barrel on
Wednesday ahead of U.S. government inventory data, after
tumbling more than $6 on growing concern over the United
Stateseconomy stirred demand worries.[]
The euro dipped to $1.5907 <EUR=>, off a record high of
$1.6040 hit the previous day.
Spot platinum <XPT=> fell to $1,933.50/1,953.50 an ounce
from $1,971.00/1,991.00 late in New York after fears of falling
demand resurfaced as the U.S. economy fades. Platinum hit a
record of $2,290 an ounce in March.
"After seeing sharp falls in stock prices, investors are
becoming increasingly concerned about the outlook for the
economy, which is leading to the selling of platinum," said
Tatsuo Kageyama, analyst at Kanetsu Asset Management in Tokyo.
"Falling car sales in the United States due to high oil
prices are another key factor hurting sentiment," he said.
The most active Tokyo platinum contract for June 2009
delivery <0#JPL:> on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange ended the
morning session 294 yen per gram lower at 6,421 yen -- well
below a record high of 7,427 yen hit in March.
News that Toyota Motor Corp <7203.T> and General Motors
Corp <GM.N> expected declines in sales weighed on platinum,
which is a major component in autocatalysts, said Kazuhiko
Saito of Interes Capital Management in Tokyo
"Platinum demand will decrease. I think the New York spot
price will reach $1,900 tonight. There's panic," he said.
Gold futures for August delivery <GCQ8> on the COMEX
division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell $6.3 an ounce
to $972.4.
Spot palladium <XPD=> fell to $436.50/444.50 an ounce from
$440.00/448.00 late in New York. Silver <XAG=> edged down to
$18.81/18.87 an ounce from $18.86/18.93 late in New York.
Precious metals prices at 0232 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 970.50 -6.10 -0.62 16.55
Spot Silver 18.81 -0.07 -0.37 27.35
Spot Platinum 1933.50 -35.50 -1.80 27.20
Spot Palladium 436.50 -3.50 -0.80 18.61
TOCOM Gold 3301.00 -35.00 -1.05 7.88
30159
TOCOM Platinum 6421.00 -294.00 -4.38 20.27
25887
TOCOM Silver 639.70 -16.90 -2.57 18.24
830
TOCOM Palladium 1503.00 -47.00 -3.03 11.25
1743
Euro/Dollar 1.5894
Dollar/Yen 104.58
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Additional reporting by Chikafumi Hodo in TOKYO; Editing by
Michael Urquhart)
