* Gold steady near four-month high
* TOCOM gold strikes 25-year high as funds return
* Investors await Fed Chairman Bernanke's testimony
(Update prices)
SINGAPORE, July 15 (Reuters) - Gold steadied near its
strongest level in almost four months on Tuesday as surging oil
prices and financial market jitters boosted the metal's
safe-haven appeal.
A firm cash market and worries about inflation pushed up
Tokyo futures to their highest level in 25 years. Silver
slipped as speculators booked profits but was within sight of
its highest level in nearly four months above $19 an ounce hit
on Monday.
Gold <XAU=> traded at $971.45/972.45 an ounce, little
changed from $971.20/972.20 an ounce late in New York. It
jumped to $974.65 an ounce on Monday, its highest level since
March 19.
"The rumours are out there in the market that there may be
more regional banks in trouble. That's obviously a concern for
the market and this has driven people into more hard
asset-based investments like gold," said Darren Heathcote of
Investec Australia.
Gold's appeal as an alternative investment to stocks and
bonds has increased on worries about the future Fannie Mae
<FNM.N> and Freddie Mae <FRE.N> despite the U.S. government's
pledge to support the nation's top mortgage finance firms.
Shares of major U.S. banks plunged on Monday amid fears
about the sector's stability following Friday's seizure by
regulators of IndyMac Bancorp as withdrawals by panicked
depositors led to the third-largest U.S. banking failure.
[]
"I think we'll still get support coming in around the $950
level. On the top side, I would suggest that it might be
somewhere around the $985-$986 level," said Heathcote.
Gold struck a lifetime high of $1,030.80 in March.
The most active Tokyo gold contract for June 2009 delivery
<0#JPL:> on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange hit a high of 3,346
yen, its highest level since September 1983, as a firm cash
market and high oil prices encouraged Japanese investors to
buy.
Oil <CLc1> eased 16 cents to $145.02 a barrel, within sight
of last week's record above $147, as a firmer dollar offset
supplyworries over an oil workers' strike in Brazil and concern
apossible Atlantic storm. <O/R>
The euro slipped to $1.5895, not far from the record high
of $1.6020 hit in April.
Dealers await Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's
testimony before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday to see
how the latest developments in the financial sector will affect
his views on monetary policy and the economy. []
Gold futures for August delivery <GCQ8> on the COMEX
division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell $1.3 an ounce
to $972.4.
Silver <XAG=> edged down to $19.06/19.12 an ounce from
$19.12/19.18 late in New York on Monday, when it jumped to a
four-month high of $19.20 an ounce.
Spot platinum <XPT=> rose to $2,022.00/2,042.00 an ounce
from $2,012.00/2,032.00 late in New York. Spot palladium <XPD=>
was steady at $448.00/456.00 an ounce.
Precious metals prices at 0133 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 971.00 -0.70 -0.07 16.61
Spot Silver 19.04 -0.01 -0.05 28.91
Spot Platinum 2021.00 9.00 +0.45 32.96
Spot Palladium 448.00 0.50 +0.11 21.74
TOCOM Gold 3342.00 26.00 +0.78 9.22
27784
TOCOM Platinum 6831.00 -6.00 -0.09 27.95
8935
TOCOM Silver 654.90 9.20 +1.42 21.05
795
TOCOM Palladium 1569.00 4.00 +0.26 16.14
352
Euro/Dollar 1.5908
Dollar/Yen 106.06
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)
