* Gold up on higher oil price, short covering
* Investors await release of U.S. data
(Updates prices, adds quotes, premiums)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, July 29 (Reuters) - Gold rose above $930 on
Tuesday as firming oil prices burnished the metal's appeal as a
hedge against inflation, while weak stock markets encouraged
some speculators to shift some of their money back to bullion.
Other precious metals also gained, but investors were
careful about buying too much ahead of the release of U.S.
economic reports expected to give clues to future monetary
policy moves by the Federal Reserve.
Gold <XAU=> rose to $931.10/932.10 an ounce from
$928.45/929.65 late in New York on Monday, when it rose more
than $1 as oil advanced after the main militant group in
Nigeria's Delta region said it had attacked two Royal Dutch
Shell <RDSa.L> pipelines.
"We'll just keep on trading in a tight range very likely
ahead of that, so I don't think much would happen," said Peter
Tse, a dealer at Scotia Mocatta in Hong Kong, referring to the
data.
"Resistance is still at $940. I guess people are waiting
for the data. If that moves oil and the dollar, then the metals
would follow," he said.
The euro barely moved at $1.5744 <EUR=> ahead of a series
of U.S. data that includes housing and consumer confidence on
Tuesday, second-quarter U.S. GDP on Thursday and Friday's U.S.
jobs figures. []
Gold struck a lifetime high of $1,030.80 an ounce in March
on record oil and expectations further interest rate cuts in
the United States. A correction in oil, and profit-taking, have
erased some of the gains.
The physical market barely moved after light buying by
jewellers on Monday. Premiums for gold bars were unchanged at
between 40 and 60 U.S. cents an ounce to the spot London prices
in Singapore <GOLD/ASIA1>.
"Everybody is waiting for this week's data. We will trade
between $915 to $940 for a little while. People don't want to
commit too much," said Ronald Leung, director of Lee Cheong
Gold Dealers in Hong Kong.
"There's a little bit of money going from the stock market
into gold," he said.
The Nikkei average fell 2.5 percent, with financial shares
hit by worries about U.S. credit market losses. In theory,
falling stock markets boost gold's appeal as an alternative
investment.
Oil <CLc1> added 56 cents to $125.29 abarrel -- still down
from the July 11 record above $147. Dealers waited for the
release of U.S. oil inventory data this week, which is expected
to show weakening demand. []
Spot platinum <XPT=> hit its highest level in almost a week
at $1,775 an ounce, up from $1,763.00/1,783.00 late in New
York.
Gold futures for August delivery <GCQ8> on the COMEX
division of the New York Mercantile Exchange added $3.3 to
$931.00 an ounce.
The most active Tokyo gold contract for June 2009 delivery
<0#JPL:> on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange rose 5 yen per gram
to
3,249 yen.
Spot palladium <XPD=> rose to $388.00/396.00 an ounce from
$385.50/393.50 late in New York. Silver <XAG=> edged up to
$17.55/17.61 an ounce from $17.46/17.52 late in New York.
Precious metals prices at 0723 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 931.00 1.10 +0.12 11.80
Spot Silver 17.55 0.07 +0.40 18.82
Spot Platinum 1751.50 -13.50 -0.76 15.23
Spot Palladium 388.00 1.50 +0.39 5.43
TOCOM Gold 3249.00 5.00 +0.15 6.18
23677
TOCOM Platinum 6036.00 5.00 +0.08 13.05
22946
TOCOM Silver 613.40 4.80 +0.79 13.38
535
TOCOM Palladium 1376.00 17.00 +1.25 1.85
877
Euro/Dollar 1.5753
Dollar/Yen 107.52
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
