* Gold turns higher on safe haven bids, ends losing streak
* Other precious metals also finish off lows
* Oil below $64 a barrel amid widespread commods weakness
(Recasts, updates with quotes, closing prices, market
activity, adds NEW YORK to dateline)
By Frank Tang and Jan Harvey
NEW YORK/LONDON, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Gold ended higher on
Friday, snapping a three-day losing streak that took it below
$700 an ounce as safe-haven buying emerged on fears that global
stock markets were heading into a free fall.
Gold initially tumbled to a 13-month low as investors
dumped precious metals along with stocks and commodities across
the board as panic investors rushed to raise cash in one of the
worst financial crises in history.
The precious metals markets also found solace in the fact
equity markets did not nose-dive after the U.S. stock market
futures had traded limit down before market open.
"Gold has not rocketed like some people expected but it has
held firm," said Victor Flores, a gold analyst with HSBC
Securities.
"I don't know about the gold price in the fourth quarter.
It's not looking good but it's not too bad a business to be
in," Flores said.
Gold is often seen as a safe store of value in times of
uncertainty and economic turmoil.
Spot gold <XAU=> fell to $680.80 an ounce, a 13-month low,
and was at $728.35 an ounce at 2:16 p.m. EDT (1816 GMT), up 0.8
percent from Thursday's close of $722.50. Later, it rallied to
peak at $741.20 an ounce.
Gold tumbled in early dealings following a global collapse
in equities brought on by fears of a worldwide recession.
[]
"It's forced liquidation and this money flow has been
hitting every commodity," said Bill O'Neill, managing partner
of LOGIC Advisors.
"You look at these markets, whether it is agricultural or
industrial commodities, we are not trading on fundamentals, we
are trading on money flow," O'Neill said.
U.S. gold futures for December delivery <GCZ8> settled up
$15.60, or 2.2 percent, at $730.30 an ounce on the COMEX
division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The dollar hit a two-year high against the euro on Friday
as falling share prices in Asia and Europe prompted investors
to seek safety in the U.S. currency. []
"I don't think this is the end of the sell-off," Alan
Plaugmann, head of futures and options at Saxo Bank, said. "The
dollar strength is definitely one of the things that people
will be looking out for."
European stocks dived nearly 10 percent as investors
worried about the prospect of recession and company earnings
deteriorated. U.S. stocks partially recovered to trade nearly 3
percent lower.
Broad-based commodity Reuters/Jefferies CRB index dropped
3.2 percent.
U.S. crude futures <CLc1>, the other main external driver
of gold, tumbled below $64 a barrel to new 16-month lows on
gloomy demand outlook and despite an OPEC agreement to cut
output. []
UNDER PRESSURE
Among other precious metals, silver <XAG=> tracked gold's
recovery after tumbling 10 percent to a session low of $8.63,
its weakest level since January 2006. Silver was at $9.17 an
ounce, down 5.1 percent from Thursday's finish.
Platinum slumped to a near five-year low of $752 an ounce
as the firmer dollar added to existing pressure on the metal
from a fall in demand linked to expectations for slowing
economic growth.
Platinum <XPT=> was at $787.50, down 1.9 percent from
Thursday's late quote, while palladium <XPD=> dropped to
$165.00, down 0.3 percent from Thursday's close.
(Editing by Christian Wiessner)
