* Investors buy coins and bars, jewellery after price fall
* Platinum, palladium lower on sluggish demand outlook
(Recasts, updates prices, market activity to market close;
adds second byline, dateline, previously LONDON)
By Frank Tang and Jan Harvey
NEW YORK/LONDON, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Gold ended slightly
lower on Wednesday, dragged by a higher dollar but buoyed by
oil's gains and investor demand for coins and bars, along with
resurgent demand from the jewelry industry.
Gold <XAU=> was at $810.35/811.75 an ounce by New York's
last quote at 2:15 p.m. EDT (1815 GMT), down from
$810.70/811.90 late in New York on Tuesday but well above the
nine-month low of $773.90 it touched on Friday.
"The stability in prices we have seen over the last few
days has been enough to ensure a decent uptick in interest from
the consumer side," said Daniel Hynes, metals strategist at
Merrill Lynch.
"We are approaching a seasonally high demand period as
well," he added.
Demand for certain finished products is so high that
refiners are struggling to keep up, analysts said.
Gold climbed to a one-week high in Asia, pulling other
precious metals in its wake, as regional demand picked up.
Buyers in India, the world's biggest market for gold,
buyers should step up gold purchases ahead of a series of
religious festivals that culminate in October with Diwali, the
Hindu festival of lights.
There was not yet enough evidence the gold market has hit
bottom, since the dollar may strengthen more, said David
Rinehimer, director at Citi Futures Perspective in New York.
"However, considering gold has dropped so far, any upward
price adjustment will not be that much of a surprise,
particularly if the equity market will be going back on the
defensive," Rinehimer said.
The U.S. gold contract for December delivery <GCZ8> settled
down 50 cents at $816.30 an ounce on the COMEX division of New
York Mercantile Exchange.
U.S. crude oil futures <CLc1> ended slightly higher at
nearly $115 a barrel in spite of a sharp rise in U.S. crude
inventory []. Goldman Sachs reiterated its call for a
year-end price of $149 a barrel for crude. Such a rise should
boost gold, often bought as a hedge against oil-led inflation.
GOLD ETF HOLDINGS DIP
The SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, the world's largest
bullion-backed exchange-traded fund, said it recorded its first
outflow in two weeks on Aug. 19, as its gold holdings dipped 1
percent. []
ETFs issue securities backed by physical commodities, and
buying by the funds has represented a major source of demand in
recent years. Analysts fear a sell-off of ETFs' gold holdings
could knock spot prices lower.
Among other precious metals, spot silver <XAG=> was little
changed at $13.17/13.23 from $13.15/13.21 in late New York
trade on Tuesday.
The world's largest silver-backed ETF, the iShares Silver
Trust, said its silver holdings rose 1 percent on Tuesday to a
record 6,304.93 tonnes. []
Spot platinum <XPT=> ended higher at $1,371.50/1,391.50 an
ounce from $1,344.50/1,364.50 late in New York, while palladium
<XPD=> was steady at $281.00/289.00 an ounce from
$280.00/288.00.
Interest in the metals remains murky with the outlook for
carmakers, who consume over half of the world's platinum.
UBS said on Wednesday it has altered its short-term
forecasts for platinum, palladium and silver.
The bank said it expects platinum to trade to $1,550 per
ounce in one month and $1,700 in three months, palladium at
$300 and $350 in one and three months respectively, and silver
at $14.70 in one month and $16.40 in three months.
(Editing by David Gregorio)
