Gold near 3-week low on oil, Iran tensions may help

SINGAPORE - Gold fell further on Wednesday, hovering near its lowest level in three weeks after oil prices dropped, but tensions in the Middle East could spur safe-haven buying at lower levels.

By (Reuters)

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Published: Wed 30 Jul 2008, 5:02 PM

Last updated: Sun 5 Apr 2015, 1:00 PM

Platinum bounced from lows but fears of falling demand for autocatalysts from auto makers due to the slowing U.S. economy and a lack of buying interest from jewellery makers weighed on sentiment.

Gold dipped to $916.60/917.60 an ounce from $918.80/920.30 an ounce late in New York. It fell as low as $913.80 an ounce on Tuesday, its weakest since July 8, also driven by rebounding stocks and a firmer U.S. dollar.

Dealers noted selling from Japanese investors but short- covering as well as light buying from jewellery makers in other parts of Asia helped cushion the fall, said dealers.

"Physical buying seems to have recovered a little bit. I think gold can get support around $900," said Dick Poon, manager of precious metals at Heraeus Ltd in Hong Kong.

He pegged resistance at $938 an ounce.

Gold has lost more than 11 percent in value since hitting a lifetime high of $1,030.80 in March.

"As long as the Iran issue is not settled, gold and oil prices will not decrease too much. For gold, $900 is the bottom price at this moment," said Yukuji Sonoda, analyst at Daiichi Commodities in Tokyo.

Iran's president urged developing nations on Tuesday to unite against what he said was bias by the U.N. Security Council, which the Islamic Republic accuses of siding with the West in a nuclear row.The United States and Israel have not ruled out military action if the Iran nuclear row cannot be resolved by diplomacy.

Oil steadied around $122 a barrel, having settled 2 percent lower, and was under pressure from an expected rise in fuel inventories amid eroding U.S. demand. Oil was well below a record of $147.27 hit on July 11.

Spot platinum rose to $1,740.00/1,760.50 an ounce from $1,735.50/1,755.50 late in New York -- far off a record high of $2,290 hit in March.

Despite lower prices, manufacturers in China and Japan were not too keen to buy because of high inventories blamed on unsold jewellery, said Sonoda of Daiichi Commodities.

"They are not in a position to buy. They also presume the price will decrease further," said Sonoda, who pegged support at $1,650 an ounce.

China's platinum imports dropped more than 4 percent to 15,871 kilograms in January to June 2008 compared with the same period last year, official customs figures show. China is the world's largest platinum jewellery consumer.

New York gold futures added $0.30 to $916.8 an ounce.

The most active Tokyo gold contract for June 2009 delivery on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange fell 30 yen per gram to 3,211 yen.

Spot palladium rose to $381.00/386.00 an ounce from $380.00/388.00 late in New York. Silver edged down to $17.29/17.35 an ounce from $17.32/17.38.

Precious metals prices at 0724 GMT

MetalLastChange Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover

Spot Gold916.55-0.30-0.0310.07

Spot Silver17.29-0.02-0.1217.06

Spot Platinum1744.002.00+0.1114.74

Spot Palladium379.50-2.50-0.653.13

TOCOM Gold3210.00 -31.00-0.964.90 29237

TOCOM Platinum6051.0046.00+0.7713.34 20057

TOCOM Silver606.40-5.40-0.8812.09 1036

TOCOM Palladium 1357.00 -11.00-0.800.44 1139

Euro/Dollar1.5597

Dollar/Yen107.93

TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.


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