* Bullion extends New York gains on record oil
* Investors await U.S. data and ECB policy meeting
* Euro steady against dollar
(Updates prices)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, July 2 (Reuters) - Gold extended gains on
Wednesday as inflation fears stoked by record high oil prices
boosted the metal's safe-haven appeal in times of uncertainty.
Gold has bounced more than 7 percent since falling to a
one-week low at $873.50 an ounce last week, mainly driven by
rising oil prices, but it remained below a record high of
$1,030.80 hit in March.
Gold <XAU=> rose to $939.15/940.15 an ounce from
$938.40/939.40 late in New York. It rallied to hit a high of
$945.80 an ounce on Tuesday, its strongest since April 18, on
the back of rising oil prices and weak stock markets.
"The things that have driven it up seem to be hanging
around. Obviously oil has been forever there and remains a
concern to many worrying about the consequential effects on
inflation," said Darren Heathcote of Investec Australia in
Sydney.
"For the time being, I suspect, gold will remain relatively
strong. Whether it would break higher through the $950s is yet
to be seen. But I suspect there could be potential for it in
the next few days, week ahead," he said.
Oil <CLc1> rose $1.28 a barrel to $142.25 on Wednesday,
holding near Monday's record high above $143, on forecasts that
global supplies will struggle to keep pace with demand as well
as on tensions between Israel and Iran []
Investors would also watch movements in the dollar ahead of
the release of economic data from the United States later in
the day and the European Central Bank's policy meeting on
Thursday.
"Today, we are likely to be rangebound in the sort of
$932-$946 area," said Heathcote, adding that a decision by the
ECB to raise rates would result in a weaker dollar.
The euro barely changed $1.5790 <EUR=>. The ECB is widely
expected to lift interest rates by a quarter-percentage point
to 4.25 percent this week.
Investors await June U.S. private sector jobs numbers and
May factory orders on Wednesday for what they have to say about
Thursday's employment data and the pace of economic growth.
"There is some buying but it looks like selling also
emerges above $940. I guess people are probably waiting for the
ECB," said a dealer in Hong Kong.
"Definitely, there's no physical buying," said the dealer,
referring to demand from jewellers.
Gold futures for August delivery <GCQ8> on the COMEX
division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell $2.6 an ounce
to $941.9 on profit taking after settling nearly 2 percent
higher.
Silver <XAG=> was little changed at $18.07/18.13 an ounce
from $18.08/18.13 late in New York on Tuesday, when it rallied
as high as $18.19, its loftiest level since May 27, to track
gold.
Spot platinum <XPT=> rose to $2,074.00/2,094.00 an ounce
from $2,069.00/2,089.00 late in New York.
Spot palladium <XPD=> was steady at $464.50/472.50 an
ounce.
The most active Tokyo platinum contract for June 2009
delivery <0#JPL:> on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange ended the
morning session 41 yen per gram higher at 6,999 yen.
Precious metals prices at 0215 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 939.50 0.65 +0.07 12.83
Spot Silver 18.08 0.02 +0.11 22.41
Spot Platinum 2075.00 6.00 +0.29 36.51
Spot Palladium 464.50 0.50 +0.11 26.22
TOCOM Gold 3230.00 37.00 +1.16 5.56
36877
TOCOM Platinum 6999.00 41.00 +0.59 31.09
9538
TOCOM Silver 622.20 18.60 +3.08 15.01
1029
TOCOM Palladium 1631.00 24.00 +1.49 20.73
431
Euro/Dollar 1.5802
Dollar/Yen 105.92
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Tomasz Janowski)
