* Gold below four-month high as speculators book profits
* Oil steadies around $138 a barrel
* Cash, Tokyo platinum futures down on fears of falling
demand
(Adds physical market, updates to afternoon)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, July 16 (Reuters) - Gold dropped on Wednesday as
speculators booked profits after the metal hit a four-month
high near $1,000 an ounce 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. It rose to $987.75 an
on Tuesday, its highest level since March 19, before a drop in
oil and 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."
The physical market came to a standstill as jewellery
makers watched gold prices gyrate. A fall in platinum prices to
a two-month low has yet to stir up interest from jewellers,
said dealers.
Oil <CLc1> barely changed around $138 a barrel on Wednesday
ahead of U.S. government inventory data, after tumbling more
than $6 on growing concerns over worsening prospects for the
U.S. economy.[]
The euro dipped to $1.5907 <EUR=>, off a record high of
$1.6040 hit the previous day.
Spot platinum <XPT=> hit a low of $1,931 an ounce, its
lowest level since May 8, down from $1,971.00/1,991.00 late in
New York after fears of falling demand resurfaced. 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, an 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 fell 286 yen
per gram to 6,429 yen, having hit a low of 6,418 yen -- its
lowest level since early May.
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 $7.9 an ounce
to $970.8.
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
$18.77/18.83 an ounce from $18.86/18.93 late in New York.
Precious metals prices at 0356 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 969.50 -7.10 -0.73 16.43
Spot Silver 18.77 -0.11 -0.58 27.08
Spot Platinum 1939.50 -29.50 -1.50 27.60
Spot Palladium 436.50 -3.50 -0.80 18.61
TOCOM Gold 3287.00 -49.00 -1.47 7.42
38364
TOCOM Platinum 6425.00 -290.00 -4.32 20.34
30215
TOCOM Silver 636.40 -20.20 -3.08 17.63
1014
TOCOM Palladium 1501.00 -49.00 -3.16 11.10
2076
Euro/Dollar 1.5905
Dollar/Yen 104.54
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
Ben Tan)
