* Gold tumbles as fear dissipates, Dow up almost 400
* Price of spot bullion slips below $900 support level
* Barrick CEO: Gold to remain volatile, long-term bullish
(Updates with quotes, closing prices, adds NY dateline/byline)
By Frank Tang and Jan Harvey
NEW YORK/LONDON, March 10 (Reuters) - Gold prices ended sharply
lower on Tuesday, falling below $900 an ounce for the first time in a
month, as a sharp rally in global stock markets lessened economic
fears, prompting investors to switch out of the safe-haven metal.
U.S. equities rose sharply on Tuesday as financials led a broad
run-up from 12-year lows. The S&P 500 index jumped nearly 6 percent,
while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 350 points. <.N>
"The recent hopes of $1,000 gold were dashed in the last two days
by investors looking to stop losses, fund liquidations and selling
related to margin calls," said George Gero, vice president of RBC
Capital Markets Global Futures.
Spot gold <XAU=> was at $897.30 an ounce at 3:36 p.m. EDT (1936
GMT), down 2.2 percent from its last quote of $920.95 late in New
York on Monday.
U.S. gold futures for April delivery <GCJ9> settled down $22.10,
or 2.4 percent, at $895.90 an ounce on the COMEX division of the New
York Mercantile Exchange.
"The recent volatility in equity markets has been getting
reflected into the yellow metal quite vividly," Pradeep Unni, senior
analyst at Richcomm Global Services, said. "Gold has been unable to
hold onto any intermittent gains and most rallies have been used as
fresh selling opportunities."
World stocks rose after three consecutive days of declines, with
the MSCI world equity index <.MIWD00000PUS> climbing sharply.
VOLATILE GOLD MARKET
The chief executive of Barrick Gold Corp <ABX.TO>, the world's
largest gold producer, said industry supply of the metal will
continue to fall and the price will remain volatile in the near
term.
Aaron Regent, Barrick's CEO, told the Reuters Global Mining and
Steel Summit in New York on Tuesday that the long-term trend for gold
should be positive because of strong investment demand and increased
jewelry buying. []
Swiss bank UBS -- using an econometric model based on volatility
in inflation levels, a dollar index and inflation as measured by U.S.
CPI -- said it sees an upside limit for gold of $2,500 an ounce
within five years and a floor of $500. []
But slack jewelry buying as prices rise is likely to cap gains,
as will a surge in scrap supply, traders said.
Meanwhile, the SPDR Gold Trust's holdings have remained
relatively steady in the past two weeks. In comparison, they jumped
by some 200 tonnes in the first six weeks of the year. []
Among other precious metals, spot silver <XAG=> was at $12.61 an
ounce, down 2.4 percent from its Monday finish of $12.92.
Spot platinum <XPT=> was at $1,040.00 an ounce, down 1.7 percent
from its previous close of $1,058, while spot palladium <XPD=> was at
$194.50 an ounce, up 0.3 percent from its late Monday New York quote
of $194.
Both platinum group metals have suffered from fears the recession
will curb demand from jewelers and carmakers, the major buyers of the
metals, which are used in catalytic converters.
(Editing by Walter Bagley)
