* Gold eases but near 1-month high
* Japan launches first bullion-backed ETF
* Oil holds near last week's record
(Updates prices)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, June 30 (Reuters) - Gold edged down on Monday as
investors booked profits after pushing up the price to its
highest level in a month last week, but record oil and a weaker
U.S. dollar may spur another round of buying.
Platinum bounced after falling in New York, silver held
near a 1-week high while palladium dropped to its lowest level
in two weeks before bouncing on bargain hunting, dealers said.
Gold <XAU=> eased to $925.25/926.55 an ounce from
$927.20/928.20 an ounce late in New York on Friday, when it
rose as high as $930.40 an ounce as record high oil and weak
stock markets triggered buying from investors.
"The dollar doesn't seem to have any luck at all and oil
price is at higher end. Things seem to be in favour of gold for
the time being," said Ronald Leung, director of Lee Cheong Gold
Dealers in Hong Kong.
"Of course we have to see profit taking. $920 will be the
support and resistance will be at $930-$935," he said.
In fundamental news, Japan's first bullion-backed
exchange-traded fund <1326.T> started trading on the Tokyo
Stock Exchange on Monday in a bid to draw more investors and
enhance Tokyo as a financial centre.[]
Oil <CLc1> rose $1.38 a barrel to $141.57, hovering near
last week's record high near $143, on weak U.S. dollar and
tensions between Israel and Iran over Tehran's nuclear
programme. []
Rising energy costs boost gold's role as a hedge against
inflation, while a weaker dollar elevates the metal's appeal as
an alternative investment.
The dollar hit a three-week low against the euro on the
back of record high oil, fears about U.S. growth and as Wall
Street stocks extended their slide [].
"I guess we are seeing light physical profit taking and the
Japanese are on the selling side but the market is still in a
good shape," said a dealer in Hong Kong.
"I don't expect selling to last long and in fact, I've seen
a little bit of buying interest at lower levels. I guess all
depends on movements in oil and the euro."
Gold futures for August delivery <GCQ8> on the COMEX
division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell $3.4 an ounce
to $927.9.
Spot platinum <XPT=> rose to $2,055.50/2,075.00 an ounce
from $2,053.50/2,073.50 late in New York.
Spot palladium <XPD=> rose to $464.00/472.00 an ounce from
$463.00/471.00 an ounce, having earlier hit a low of $446.50 an
ounce. Speculators booked profits after the price jumped to a
three-month high of $477 on June 19.
Silver <XAG=> rose to $17.55/17.60 an ounce from
$17.52/17.61 late in New York.
The most active Tokyo platinum contract for June 2009
delivery <0#JPL:> on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange ended the
morning session 31 yen per gram lower at 6,934 yen.
Precious metals prices at 0256 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 925.60 -1.55 -0.17 11.16
Spot Silver 17.53 0.03 +0.17 18.69
Spot Platinum 2055.50 3.50 +0.17 35.23
Spot Palladium 464.50 -0.50 -0.11 26.22
TOCOM Gold 3199.00 26.00 +0.82 4.54
31780
TOCOM Platinum 6934.00 -31.00 -0.45 29.87
13263
TOCOM Silver 606.00 6.80 +1.13 12.01
878
TOCOM Palladium 1631.00 -12.00 -0.73 20.73
501
Euro/Dollar 1.5781
Dollar/Yen 106.27
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)
