* Gold edges up on firmer euro, oil
* Investors keep an eye on U.S. auto bailout, OPEC meeting
* Nikkei up 1.1 pct
(Updates prices)
SINGAPORE, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Gold inched up on Wednesday
as the euro strengthened against the U.S. dollar and oil
rebounded, with investors also keeping an eye on the stock
market amid gears of a growing recession.
Markets also digested news that U.S lawmakers had reached a
tentative deal to bail out automakers. Analysts said this would
boost market confidence and stocks, and could be supportive of
gold.
Gold <XAU=> was trading at $776.35 an ounce, up $0.85 from
New York's notional close on Tuesday, when it moved in a
volatile $17 an ounce range.
A sell-off in equities had forced investors to ditch gold
to cover losses, sending bullion to a 13-month low around $680
an ounce late in October.
A firmer euro against the dollar helped lift gold but
demand from jewellers had subsided, said Ronald Leung, director
of Lee Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong, adding that dealers
also expected book squaring as the year-end approached.
"Sentiment is neither bullish nor bearish. Fears of a
recession make it bearish but I think safe-haven buying also
makes it bullish," he said.
Gold is struggling to sustain an uptrend since hitting a
two-month high of $931 in early October, mainly due to weakness
in oil and equities. Bullion was 25 percent below a lifetime
high of $1,030.80 struck in March, when fears of rising energy
costs spurred buying.
"There's bargain hunting in Japan because OPEC will cut
production next week. So we also see short-covering in the
crude oil market," said Kazuhito Saito of Interes Capital
Management in Tokyo.
Oil rebounded by more than $1 a barrel to under $44 in
light bargain hunting on Wednesday, after slumping 4 percent
overnight on the back of lowered forecasts for U.S. energy
demand and fears of a deepening global recession. []
OPEC, facing a slide in oil prices since July of over $100
a barrel, has already agreed to cut about 2 million barrels per
day of output to support prices and members are leaning towards
more supply cuts at the Dec. 17 meeting in Algeria.
[]
The euro firmed to $1.2949 <EUR=>. Investors were wary of
taking on risk as Washington stepped closer to bailing out its
top three automakers. []
The Nikkei <> gained 1.1 percent on a softer yen, with
investors also taking some comfort in machinery orders data
that some said was not as bad as they had feared. []
The White House and congressional Democrats reached an
agreement in principle on a proposal for bailing out U.S.
automakers, officials said, though final details still needed
to be ironed out and put in writing. []
Platinum <XPT=>, which is used in auto catalytic
converters, was trading at $815.00 an ounce, up $11.50 from New
York notional close, benefiting from the tentative bailout
deal.
New York gold futures <GCZ9> added $3.0 an ounce to $777.2
in electronic trade.
Precious metals prices at 0306 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 776.35 0.85 +0.11 -6.77
Spot Silver 9.89 0.10 +1.02 -33.04
Spot Platinum 815.00 11.50 +1.43 -46.38
Spot Palladium 172.50 -1.50 -0.86 -53.13
TOCOM Gold 2310.00 33.00 +1.45 -24.51
14482
TOCOM Platinum 2464.00 55.00 +2.28 -53.85
5845
TOCOM Silver 292.90 1.40 +0.48 -45.86
97
TOCOM Palladium 535.00 17.00 +3.28 -60.40
66
Euro/Dollar 1.2931
Dollar/Yen 92.37
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)
