* Bullion extends New York gains on record oil
* Investors await U.S. data and ECB policy meeting
* Euro edges up against dollar
(Updates prices, adds quotes)
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 <XAU=> rose to $941.00/942.05 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.
"Now, we are looking for a test of the $950-$955 regions or
a possible break above these regions to provide a strong
platform for gold to retest the record high levels," Philip
Futures said in a report.
"Nearby downside support can be found in the previous
resistance-turned-support regions of $935. A break below this
level will bring us to the next strong support around $910."
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.
Oil <CLc1> rose $1.18 a barrel to $142.15 on Wednesday,
holding near Monday's record high above $143, on forecasts that
global supplies would 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.
"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.
The euro inched up to $1.5809 <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.
"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.
Gold futures for August delivery <GCQ8> on the COMEX
division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell $2.4 an ounce
to $942.1 on profit-taking after settling nearly 2 percent
higher.
Silver <XAG=> inched down to $18.05/18.11 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 $2,070.00/2,090.00 an ounce
from $2,069.00/2,089.00 late in New York.
Spot palladium <XPD=> firmed to $466.00/474.00 an ounce
from $464.00/472.00 an ounce.
The most active Tokyo platinum contract for June 2009
delivery <0#JPL:> on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange rose 48 yen
per gram to 7,006 yen.
Precious metals prices at 0701 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 940.95 2.10 +0.22 13.00
Spot Silver 18.11 0.05 +0.28 22.61
Spot Platinum 2074.50 5.50 +0.27 36.48
Spot Palladium 466.00 2.00 +0.43 26.63
TOCOM Gold 3239.00 46.00 +1.44 5.85
63946
TOCOM Platinum 7005.00 47.00 +0.68 31.20
16611
TOCOM Silver 623.00 19.40 +3.21 15.16
1814
TOCOM Palladium 1633.00 26.00 +1.62 20.87
930
Euro/Dollar 1.5833
Dollar/Yen 106.00
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
