(Updates prices)
By Miho Yoshikawa
TOKYO, June 3 (Reuters) - Spot gold inched up to above $895
on Tuesday on a softer dollar, but gains were capped by a lack of
direction and slow trade as investors watched the progress of a
U.S. Senate committee hearing on commodities speculation.
The precious metal ended higher on Monday as the dollar
softened against the euro and as oil prices bounced back from
earlier lows.
Spot gold <XAU=> was at $895.50/896.50 an ounce at 0905 GMT
versus $891.25/892.65 late in New York on Monday.
Koji Suzuki, a senior manager at SBI Futures Co Ltd,
attributed the slow trade in part to a U.S. Senate committee
hearing on commodity markets.
The committee is trying to curb speculation in commodities,
an issue which has come into focus again as oil hit a record high
above $135 a barrel in May.
"I don't think speculators are moving much in New York,"
Suzuki said.
The mood has also influenced trading in London, he said.
"It's sort of created a vacuum in the market," Suzuki said.
He said although a soft dollar would continue to draw gold
buying by investors, the precious metal was unlikely to move much
for the time being barring some major development.
Bullion prices are currently trading at a level that is down
about 13 percent from the all-time high of $1,030.80 marked in
mid-March.
Although they are off a low of $845 marked on May 2, they
have failed to maintain a level above $930 for the past two
weeks.
Oil fell earlier as views that oil demand would weaken
overshadowed fears about the Atlantic hurricane season and the
threat to supply, but it later recouped losses.
Front-month U.S. crude for July delivery <CLc1> was down 2
cents at $127.74 per barrel.
The dollar fell broadly, while the low-yielding yen rose
after a report that U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers may
raise new capital intensified concerns about the state of the
global financial sector.
The U.S. currency fell around 0.4 percent to 103.98 yen.
The euro rose 0.3 percent to $1.5585 <EUR=>.
Gold futures for August delivery <GCQ8> on the COMEX division
of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose $1.30 to $898.30.
The benchmark April contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange
<0#JAU:> closed at 3,023 yen per gram, up 19 yen.
In industry news, Eldorado Gold has begun construction of its
Efemcukuru gold mine in Turkey, after a court issued
environmental permits and approval for the mine, the company said
on Monday. []
Turkey's gold imports jumped back to 19.4 tonnes in May,
after coming almost to a halt in March and April due to high
prices, the figures from Istanbul Gold Exchange showed on
Tuesday. []
Canadian miner Centerra Gold said its framework agreements
with the Kyrgyz government related to its Kumtor gold mine were
not ratified by the country's parliament in the set time frame,
and that it will resume international arbitration. []
Other precious metals tracked gold's rise.
Platinum <XPT=> rose to $2,031/2,041 an ounce from
$2,000/2,020 in New York.
Palladium <XPD=> firmed to $434.50/442.50 an ounce versus
$431/439.
Silver <XAG=> climbed to $16.87/16.93 an ounce versus
$16.81/16.87 late in New York.
Precious metals prices at 0912 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover
Spot Gold 896.10 6.60 +0.74 40.96
Spot Silver 16.88 0.09 +0.54 31.36
Spot Platinum 2027.00 31.00 +1.55 79.06
Spot Palladium 434.50 4.00 +0.93 30.87
TOCOM Gold 3023.00 19.00 +0.63 23.64 43482
TOCOM Platinum 6675.00 137.00 +2.10 56.91 32582
TOCOM Silver 574.10 3.10 +0.54 16.38 897
TOCOM Palladium 1495.00 32.00 +2.19 19.12 786
Euro/Dollar 1.5613
Dollar/Yen 104.07
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Reporting by Miho Yoshikawa, Editing by Michael Watson)
