* Gold pauses for breath after hitting 3-month high
* Oil steady, offers support for precious metals
* Euro barely changed
(Updates prices)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, July 11 (Reuters) - Gold dipped on Friday,
having rallied to its highest level in almost three months the
previous day, but a weaker U.S. dollar and strong oil prices
could offer an excuse to investors to buy again.
Platinum hit a 1-week high on bargain hunting, after
falling to a two-month low on Tuesday on fears that a slowing
U.S. economy could weaken demand for the precious metal used in
auto catalysts.
Gold <XAU=> eased to $942.35/943.35 an ounce from
$944.10/945.30 late in New York as speculators booked profits
and jewellery makers in parts of Asia cashed in on the metal's
gains.
Gold jumped as high as $947.40 an ounce on Thursday, its
strongest since April 17, when it touched $952.60 an ounce.
"It's going to be choppy. I think the market is closely
watching the development in oil at the moment. If it breaches
$950, I think it's going to look interesting," said Mark
Pervan, senior commodities analyst with ANZ in Melbourne.
"I think around that level it could move higher from there
because it could trigger a short covering rally at that point
and some stop-loss selling."
Gold struck a lifetime high at $1,030.80 in March on
record-high crude oil, which raised fears of inflation and
expectations of more rate cuts in the United States, making the
metal more attractive as an alternative investment.
Oil <CLc1> was steady at $141.76 a barrel after rising 4
percent in the past session on news of more missiles tests by
OPEC member Iran and threats toproduction in Nigeria and
Brazil. []
The euro steadied at $1.5790 <EUR=>, having risen on
concerns over the health of the U.S. financial sector as shares
and bonds of the country's two big mortgage finance companies
tumbled on capitalisation fears. []
"I think the market is pretty supported more by the oil
price at the moment than the dollar. What's driving oil markets
at the moment is purely geopolitical tension," said Pervan.
Gold futures for August delivery <GCQ8> on the COMEX
division of the New York Mercantile Exchange added $1.90 an
ounce to $943.90.
Spot platinum <XPT=> rose to $2,015.00/2,035.00 an ounce
from $1,994.50/2,014.50 late in New York, having hit a 1-week
high of 2,023 an ounce.
"It looks there's some TOCOM-related buying. It is
basically quiet but gains in Tokyo have encouraged some buying
in the cash market," said a dealer in Hong Kong, who pegged
resistance at $2,035 an ounce.
The most active platinum contract for June 2009 delivery
<0#JPL:> on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange ended the morning
session 160 yen per gram higher at 6,884 yen as funds returned
to the market after the contract hit a one-month low this week.
Spot palladium <XPD=> rose to $447.50/455.50 an ounce from
$445.00/453.00 an ounce late in New York. Silver <XAG=> edged
up to $18.29/18.35 an ounce from $18.28/18.33 late in New
York.
Precious metals prices at 0251 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 942.30 -4.10 -0.43 13.16
Spot Silver 18.29 0.03 +0.16 23.83
Spot Platinum 2015.00 18.50 +0.93 32.57
Spot Palladium 447.50 2.00 +0.45 21.60
TOCOM Gold 3272.00 44.00 +1.36 6.93
39650
TOCOM Platinum 6884.00 160.00 +2.38 28.94
17348
TOCOM Silver 634.90 4.70 +0.75 17.36
1166
TOCOM Palladium 1587.00 22.00 +1.41 17.47
889
Euro/Dollar 1.5783
Dollar/Yen 106.99
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Michael Urquhart)
