* Gold moves up on oil, weaker dollar
* Dollar off 8-month peak
(Updates prices)
SINGAPORE, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Gold firmed on Thursday after
oil gained more than $1 a barrel and spurred safe-haven buying,
with a falling U.S. dollar offering extra incentives for
speculators to buy.
Platinum extended losses as fears of falling demand for
autocatalysts lingered, while chart-driven buying supported
silver and palladium, dealers said.
Gold <XAU=> rose to $815.20/816.25 an ounce from
$810.35/811.75 an ounce late in New York on Wednesday, when it
advanced to its highest in nearly a week around $817 with the
help of physical buying.
"I think gold is consolidating at the moment. I think it's
a range market around $800 to $830 right now. But you know, the
price is actually very volatile," said Dick Poon, manager of
precious metals at Heraeus Ltd in Hong Kong.
Jewellers, which snapped up gold earlier this week after
prices dropped to nine-month lows last week, were on the
sidelines. "The customers are waiting for the price to get
lower. They are buying on dips," said Poon.
Gold was well below a lifetime high of $1,030.80 struck in
March.
U.S. crude futures <Clc1> rose to more than $116 a barrel
on supply concerns after Russia expressed its displeasure over
a U.S.-Poland missile shield pact. []
In theory, expensive oil lifts gold's appeal as a hedge
against inflation, while a weaker dollar makes bullion an
attractive alternative investment to currencies and bonds.
The dollar index, which measures the dollar's value against
a basket of six currencies, slipped 0.2 percent to 76.777
<.DXY>. It struck its highest level this year of 77.413 on
Tuesday.
Gold futures for December delivery <GCZ8> on the COMEX
division of the New York Mercantile Exchange added $2.9 an
ounce to $819.20.
Gold sales by signatories of the Central Bank Gold
Agreement could be the lowest since the pact was signed in
1999, the World Gold Council said on Wednesday. []
Spot platinum <XPT=> fell to $1,360.50/1,380.50 an ounce
from $1,368.50/1,388.50 an ounce late in New York.
Spot palladium <XPD=> inched up to $284.00/289.50 an ounce
from $281.00/289.00 an ounce. Silver <XAG=> edged up to
$13.25/13.31 an ounce from $13.15/13.21 late in New York.
The most active Tokyo gold contract for June 2009 delivery
<0#JAU:> on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange fell 5 yen per gram to
2,885 yen.
Precious metals prices at 0337 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 815.45 2.80 +0.34 -2.07
Spot Silver 13.25 0.02 +0.15 -10.29
Spot Platinum 1360.50 -9.00 -0.66 -10.49
Spot Palladium 284.00 2.50 +0.89 -22.83
TOCOM Gold 2885.00 -5.00 -0.17 -5.72
10230
TOCOM Platinum 4768.00 10.00 +0.21 -10.69
7625
TOCOM Silver 471.40 0.20 +0.04 -12.87
301
TOCOM Palladium 1027.00 11.00 +1.08 -23.98
175
Euro/Dollar 1.4767
Dollar/Yen 109.64
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Reporting by Lewa Pardomuan; Editing by Michael Urquhart)
