* Gold steady near 1-month high
* Japan launches first bullion-backed ETF
* Oil holds near last week's record
(Updates prices, adds strike in Peru)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, June 30 (Reuters) - Gold steadied on Monday
after investors pushed 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 gave up early gains, silver held near a 1-week
high while palladium dropped to its lowest level in two weeks
before bouncing on bargain hunting.
Gold <XAU=> was at $927.40/928.40 an ounce, steady from
$927.20/928.20 an ounce late in New York on Friday, when it
rose as high as $930.40 as record high oil and weak stock
markets triggered buying from investors.
"The dollar doesn't seem to have any luck at all and the
oil price is at the 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.
The physical market saw speculators cashing in gold's
recent gains which may cap the upside, while jewellers waited
for a correction. Premiums for gold bars were unchanged.
<GOLD/ASIA1> "Of course there's no physical buying. They
will only buy if you hold a gun to their heads," said Leung,
referring to jewellers who may step into the market if the
price dips to $850 again.
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 $1.69 a barrel to $141.90, hovering near
last week's record high near $143, on a 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
good shape," said a dealer in Hong Kong.
Gold futures for August delivery <GCQ8> on the COMEX
division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell $1.2 an ounce
to $930.1.
Spot platinum <XPT=> rose to $2,054.00/2,074.00 an ounce
from $2,053.50/2,073.50 late in New York.
Spot palladium <XPD=> rose to $465.00/473.00 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 $17.58/17.64 an ounce from
$17.52/17.61 late in New York.
In industry news, Peru's largest federation of mining
unions said a nationwide strike has started. Peru is the
world's leading silver producer and second-largest copper and
zinc miner. []
The most active Tokyo platinum contract for June 2009
delivery <0#JPL:> on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange fell 52 yen
per gram to 6,913 yen.
Precious metals prices at 0618 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 928.00 0.85 +0.09 11.44
Spot Silver 17.58 0.08 +0.46 19.03
Spot Platinum 2060.00 8.00 +0.39 35.53
Spot Palladium 465.00 0.00 +0.00 26.36
TOCOM Gold 3186.00 13.00 +0.41 4.12
52010
TOCOM Platinum 6912.00 -53.00 -0.76 29.46
26144
TOCOM Silver 605.50 6.30 +1.05 11.92
1279
TOCOM Palladium 1626.00 -17.00 -1.03 20.36
1055
Euro/Dollar 1.5793
Dollar/Yen 105.68
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Michael Urquhart)
