(Adds mining shares)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Gold gained on Thursday and
held near a record high hit the previous day but the market
could undergo a correction before hitting the $900 an ounce
target.
Platinum dipped but was within sign of an all-time high,
while shares in Australian gold miners backtracked after rising
the day before.
Spot gold <XAU=> rose to $879.60/880.40 an ounce from
$877.70/878.50 late in New York. Gold hit an all-time high of
$891.40 an ounce on Wednesday on investor buying and a strong
debut for the Shanghai gold futures <0#SHAU:>.
"Technically, gold is still very much biased to clock new
highs. Momentum is showing no signs of cooling and any pullback
would ideally trigger fresh buying interest," said Pradeep
Unni, an analyst at Vision Commodities in Dubai.
"The next probable stop for gold is around $920 and that is
likely to be witnessed before the Fed decision or immediately
after that," he added.
Recent grim U.S. manufacturing and employment data has
intensified the likelihood the Federal Reserve will cut rates
by half a percentage point later this month. Markets await Fed
Chairman Ben Bernanke's first comments on the economy in 2008
on Thursday.
The euro inched up to $1.4670 <EUR=>, above a one-week low
of $1.4639 hit the previous day.
Unni added, however, that there was a rising fear that
physical demand in gold could lose momentum as many buyers were
not prepared to pay the currently high prices.
"Possibilities of increased scrap sales and muted physical
prices could negate potensials for further rise."
Gold, which gained more than 30 percent in 2007, entered
the new year on a firm note, rising more than 6 percent on
speculative buying ignited by a struggling dollar and record
high crude oil prices <CLc1>.
"I don't think it's sustainable above $880 level. There was
buying out of Japan yesterday morning. They were buying not
because they were bullish, they were cutting losses," said
William Kwan, a dealer at Phillip Futures in Singapore.
The key gold futures contract for December 2008 delivery
<0#JAU:> on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange hit a high of 3,153
yen per gram before sliding to 3,134 yen, unchanged from
previous day's close.
It reached an intraday high 3,173 yen, the highest for a
benchmark since March 1984, on Wednesday, and dealers said a
rally in Tokyo helped spur buying in Shanghai futures.
COMEX gold futures rose in Asia, with the most active
February contract <GCG8> up $0.3 from New York at $882.0
Shares in Australian gold miners fell as gold slipped from
record highs. Newcrest Mining <NCM.AX> dropped 2.7 percent and
Lihir Gold <LGL.AX> lost 1.27 percent.
Platinum <XPT=> dipped to $1,545/1,550 from $1,550/1,554 an
ounce late in New York on Wednesday, when it hit a record of
$1,560.
Silver <XAG=> rose to $15.70/15.75 an ounce from
$15.67/15.72 late in New York. Palladium <XPD=> rose to
$374/378 an ounce from $373/377.
Precious metals prices at 0359 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 879.60 1.80 +0.21 5.63
Spot Silver 15.67 0.00 +0.00 6.09
Spot Platinum 1545.00 -5.00 -0.32 1.64
Spot Palladium 374.00 1.00 +0.27 1.63
TOCOM Gold 3132.00 -2.00 -0.06 2.35
54863
TOCOM Platinum 5339.00 2.00 +0.04 0.00
19191
TOCOM Silver 556.50 -7.10 -1.26 2.87
953
TOCOM Palladium 1341.00 -9.00 -0.67 -0.74
377
Euro/Dollar 1.4683
Dollar/Yen 109.73
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Ben Tan)
