(Corrects platinum intraday low to $1,452.50 an ounce in
paragraph 12. The daily chart on which the report was based
<XPT=> has been amended after a contributor corrected its data)
* Gold slips as investors seek to cover losses in other mkts
* PGMs hit by worry euro zone debt crisis will hurt economy
* Coming Up: U.S. ECRI weekly due at 1430 GMT
By Chikako Mogi
TOKYO, May 21 (Reuters) - Spot gold fell more than 1 percent
to two-week lows on Friday as investors sold to cover losses in
other markets, including stocks, while platinum group metals hit
three-month lows on worries about industrial demand.
Asian stocks were down, with Japan's benchmark Nikkei
average hitting a five-month low [] as exporters were hurt
after the yen strengthened against the euro on worries about
disunity among euro zone leaders on how to address the region's
debt crisis.
Palladium reversed earlier losses to post minor gains, but
platinum extended declines into the seventh day in a row on
worries about weakening industrial demand for the metal as
Europe's debt problems are seen hurting the region's economy.
Spot gold <XAU=> was down 0.3 percent at $1,178.30 per ounce
at 0549 GMT after marking a two-week low of $1,166.50, compared
with $1,181.10 an ounce late in New York on Thursday. It hit a
record high $1,248.95 an ounce on May 14.
"As of now, investors are more focused on selling gold to
cover losses in other assets, particularly as stocks are
falling, than seeing the metal as a safe haven," said Kazuhiko
Saito, chief commodities analyst at futures trading company
Fujitomi.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Technical analysis []
Graphic on technical outlook: http://link.reuters.com/tav55k
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
"Gold has risen sharply and after hitting a peak. Investors
became wary of the high price levels," Saito said, adding that
gold has not yet come down enough for investors to buy back
again.
"Some are also speculating that governments under fiscal
scrutiny might sell their gold holdings," Saito said.
U.S. gold futures for June delivery <GCM0> fell 0.9 percent
to $1,178.30 an ounce from $1,188.60 on the COMEX division of
the NYMEX.
Wakako Harada, a senior trader at Mitsubishi Corp in Tokyo,
said the market currently appears to be in a panic, with
investors feeling they needed to cover losses in other assets
hit by financial turmoil stemming from the euro zone's debt
crisis.
Spot gold is on the way to falling 4.5 percent this week,
its worst weekly performance since late February.
"Once this round of selling subsides, investors will think
where is the best to put their money in light of fundamentals,"
helping to support liquid assets such as gold, she said.
Spot platinum <XPT=> was down 0.6 percent at $1,499.50 per
ounce, extending its fall after dropping more than 7 percent on
Thursday. It earlier fell almost 4 percent to $1,452.50 an
ounce, its lowest since Feb. 5.
Spot palladium <XPD=> fell as low as $393.00, also a
three-month low, before reversing the losses to $419.50 per
ounce. On Thursday it lost 12 percent to $412.75.
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the
SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, said its holdings totalled 1,220.152
tonnes as of May 20, unchanged from the previous business day
when they hit a record high. []
The euro rose on Friday as a bout of short-covering extended
after its slide to a four-year low earlier this week. []
PRICES
Precious metals prices at 0551 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 1178.50 -2.60 -0.22 7.56
Spot Silver 17.74 0.15 0.85 5.41
Spot Platinum 1500.50 -8.50 -0.56 2.28
Spot Palladium 418.00 5.25 1.27 3.08
TOCOM Gold 3429 -38.00 -1.10 5.22 102856
TOCOM Platinum 4385 -206.00 -4.49 0.09 62566
TOCOM Silver 52 -1.10 -2.07 0.58 1046
TOCOM Palladium 1210 -55.00 -4.35 3.86 2075
Euro/Dollar 1.2611
Dollar/Yen 90.23
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Additional reporting by Risa Maeda; Editing by Michael Watson)
