(Updates to Tokyo close, adds comments)
By Risa Maeda
TOKYO, April 21 (Reuters) - Gold rebounded on Monday,
bolstered by light buying on dips by Japanese investors.
Spot gold <XAU=> was at $919.20/919.90 per ounce at 0900 GMT
after falling more than $20 to $916.40/917.20 by late New York
trade on Friday, hurt by a rising dollar and an upbeat U.S.
stock market.
Citigroup Inc <C.N> fuelled a rally on Wall Street on Friday
as investors took comfort that the No.1 U.S. bank was taking
aggressive steps to resolve credit problems that led to its
latest quarterly loss.
Last week, gold climbed as high as $952.60, the highest
level since March 28. Gold is traditionally seen as a safe-haven
asset when volatility rises in other markets.
"Gold's charm as a hedging asset is declining as concerns
about a credit crisis in the U.S. are waning," said Hitoshi
Inagawa, senior manager at Tokyo-based commodity brokerage
Yutaka Shoji Co's corporate investment and service division.
"But some investors resumed buying, resulting in the
resilience in the Tokyo market," he said.
The most active U.S. gold futures contract for June delivery
<GCM8> on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange
also bounced back in Asia, rising $7 to $922.20 per ounce.
But gold's topside was capped by a weakening euro against
the dollar after hitting an all-time high of $1.5985 last week.
The euro edged up to $1.5865 <EUR=> from around $1.5810 on
Friday. The dollar was little changed at 103.60 yen <JPY=>.
Elsewhere, U.S. crude oil futures were little changed after
striking a record high of $117.40 per barrel in late Asian
trade.
U.S. light crude for May delivery <CLc1> was at $117.00, up
31 cents from the New York close.
The benchmark February gold contract <0#JAU:> on the Tokyo
Commodity Exchange fell 44 yen a gram to 3,089 yen in a delayed
reaction to the metal's fall late last week.
Spot platinum <XPT=> was little changed at $2,035/2,045 an
ounce from Friday's late New York levels of $2,035/2,050.
The benchmark February platinum contract <0#JPL:> fell 53
yen a gram to 6,607 yen. The TOCOM market came under pressure as
some traders sold the February contract and bought cash platinum
to arbitrage, said a manager at a Japanese trading house.
Analysts said, however, fundamentals of platinum were
bullish in the mid to long term as South Africa, the world's
biggest producer, struggled with a power crisis which has forced
state power utility Eskom [] to implement nationwide power
cuts.
Platinum is mainly used to clean vehicle exhaust fumes and
to make jewellery.
"The situation in South Africa stays uncertain, with
visibility low in terms of politics and the power generation
problem," said Yuki Sonoda, adviser to the president at Japanese
brokerage Daiichi Commodities Co.
"Japanese auto makers are expected to return to the market
to buy platinum around May ... I think a level around $2,000 or
lower would be a bargain for them," he said.
Spot palladium <XPD=> was $455/460 an ounce, up from
$450/455 in late New York on Friday, and silver <XAG=> was
little changed at $17.85/17.90 an ounce from $17.87/17.92 on
Friday.
Precious metals prices at 0908 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover
Spot Gold 918.55 2.55 +0.28 10.31
Spot Silver 17.85 0.01 +0.06 20.85
Spot Platinum 2025.00 -10.00 -0.49 33.22
Spot Palladium 455.00 4.50 +1.00 23.64
TOCOM Gold 3089.00 -44.00 -1.40 0.95 61046
TOCOM Platinum 6607.00 -53.00 -0.80 23.75 25061
TOCOM Silver 599.40 -13.50 -2.20 10.79 818
TOCOM Palladium 1547.00 -1.00 -0.06 14.51 1767
Euro/Dollar 1.5859
Dollar/Yen 103.61
(Editing by Chris Johnson)
