* Gold up 1 pct as dollar struggles
* Platinum hits 2-month low before rebounding
* Tokyo gold futures strike 25-year peak
(Recasts; updates prices)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, July 22 (Reuters) - Gold jumped more than 1
percent on Tuesday as uncertainties in the U.S. financial
system lingered, making the metal a more attractive alternative
investment, while fund buying pushed up Tokyo futures to a near
25-year high.
Platinum rebounded after tumbling to its lowest level in
more than two months as the industrial sector took advantage of
cheaper prices to buy again. Silver and palladium also firmed.
Gold <XAU=> rose to $972.10/973.10 an ounce from
$961.75/963.15 an ounce late in New York on Monday -- not far
from a four-month high of $987.75 hit last week.
Gold hit a record high of $1,030.80 an ounce in March.
Physical buying was limited as jewellers waited for clues
from the energy market after oil slipped from this month's
all-time peak above $147 a barrel, dealers said.
"It should be a quiet month for the physical market. The
Europeans are mostly out for summer holidays but (gold) looks
pretty strong," said Beh Hsia Wah, a dealer at United Overseas
Bank in Singapore.
"Personally, it must be investment and fund buying," he
said.
The benchmark Tokyo gold contract for June 2009 delivery
<0#JPL:> on Tokyo Commodity Exchange hit a high of 3,363 yen
per gram, its highest level since September 1983.
The euro barely budged at $1.5915 <EUR=>, having gained in
New York with the market focusing on a rescue plan for troubled
U.S. mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae <FNM.N> and Freddie Mac
<FRE.N>. []
"There's a very bullish momentum here. A move above $975
should gun out all the buy stops on the upside," said William
Kwan, bullion director at Gold Capital Management in Singapore.
Oil <CLc1> was steady above $131 a barrel, paring some of
the previous session's gains, as Tropical Storm Dolly, the
first big storm threat of2008 for offshore oil producers in the
Gulf of Mexico, lookedunlikely to affect U.S production. []
Spot platinum <XPT=> hit a low of $1,825.50, its lowest
since May 2, before rebounding to $1,871.50/1,891.50 an ounce,
up from $1,837/1,857 an ounce in New York on technical buying
as charts showed the metal was in oversold territory.
Platinum was hit by fears of falling demand for
autocatalysts due to a slowing U.S. economy. Platinum, also
used in jewellery, has dropped more than 18 percent since
hitting a record high of $2,290 in March.
"It looks like there's some buying from the industrial
sector. Buying started around $1,850 but I am not sure if
there's interest from jewellers," said a dealer in Tokyo.
"There's also fund buying in TOCOM gold and platinum," he
said.
Gold futures for August delivery <GCQ8> on the COMEX
division of the New York Mercantile Exchange added $9.6 to
$973.30 an ounce.
Spot palladium <XPD=> rose to $422.00/427.00 an ounce from
$410.50/418.50 late in New York. Silver <XAG=> firmed to
$18.63/18.68 an ounce from $18.35/18.43 late in New York.
Precious metals prices at 0800 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 973.30 8.00 +0.83 16.88
Spot Silver 18.61 0.22 +1.20 26.00
Spot Platinum 1873.50 36.50 +1.99 23.26
Spot Palladium 422.00 10.50 +2.55 14.67
TOCOM Gold 3361.00 48.00 +1.45 9.84
42074
TOCOM Platinum 6378.00 77.00 +1.22 19.46
31337
TOCOM Silver 644.50 3.30 +0.51 19.13
963
TOCOM Palladium 1482.00 7.00 +0.47 9.70
975
Euro/Dollar 1.5924
Dollar/Yen 106.43
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)
