* Gold steadies near 3-month high.
* Oil rises more than $1 on geopolitical tension.
(Recasts, adds quotes)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, July 11 (Reuters) - Gold steadied on Friday,
within sight of its highest level in almost three months hit
the previous day, as strong oil prices helped the metal resist
selling pressure from speculators and jewellers.
Platinum hit a one-week high on bargain hunting and gains
in Tokyo futures, 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=> was at $944.45/945.45 an ounce, steady from
$944.10/945.30 late in New York, having hit a low of $941.40 an
ounce as speculators booked profits and jewellery makers in
parts of Asia cashed in on the metal's gains.
"It has to stay above $950 before there's a chance to test
new highs. Otherwise, it will just move back and forth between
$910 and $940," said Ronald Leung, director of Lee Cheong Gold
Dealers in Nong Kong.
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 developments 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 of $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> rose more than $1 to above $143 a barrel after
Iran conducted more missiles tests and due to threats to
production in Nigeria and Brazil. []
The euro slipped to $1.5772 <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 $3.7 an
ounce to $945.7.
Spot platinum <XPT=> rose to $2,023.50/2,043.50 an ounce
from $1,994.50/2,014.50 late in New York, having hit a one-week
high of 2,030 an ounce.
"Platinum faces the largest obstacle as the $2,030-$2,040
support-turned-resistance will be an important level to look at
for higher platinum prices," said Philip Futures in a report.
"We will probably have to see a movement above the $2,050
levels for platinum to retest the $2,100-$2,120 resistance."
The most active platinum contract for June 2009 delivery
<0#JPL:> on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange rose 200 yen per gram
to 6,924 yen as funds returned to the market after the contract
hit a one-month low this week.
Spot palladium <XPD=> rose to $449.50/457.50 an ounce from
$445.00/453.00 an ounce late in New York. Silver <XAG=> rose
to
$18.34/18.39 an ounce from $18.28/18.33 late in New York.
Precious metals prices at 0714 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 944.40 -2.00 -0.21 13.41
Spot Silver 18.32 0.06 +0.33 24.04
Spot Platinum 2025.00 28.50 +1.43 33.22
Spot Palladium 449.50 4.00 +0.90 22.15
TOCOM Gold 3284.00 56.00 +1.73 7.32
67361
TOCOM Platinum 6922.00 198.00 +2.94 29.65
29236
TOCOM Silver 639.80 9.60 +1.52 18.26
1771
TOCOM Palladium 1602.00 37.00 +2.36 18.58
1523
Euro/Dollar 1.5782
Dollar/Yen 107.17
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Ben Tan)
