* Gold extends losses on falling oil, hits 1-week low
* Platinum drops 3 percent on fears of falling demand
(Updates prices, adds activity in physical market)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Gold struck a one-week low on
Tuesday, as speculators ditched some holdings following a sharp
drop in oil prices and a rally in the U.S. dollar, which
reduced bullion's appeal as an alternative investment.
A state of emergency in Thailand, Asia's fourth-largest
gold investor, had yet to spur safe-haven buying but dealers
saw purchases at lower levels from jewellers in other parts of
Asia. Platinum dropped 3 percent to a one-week low on demand
concerns.
Gold <XAU=> fell to $814.20/815.20 an ounce from
$817.15/818.75 an ounce late in London. New York markets were
closed on Monday for the Labor Day holiday.
"The movements in oil prices and the U.S. dollar have both
conspired against gold," said David Moore, an analyst at
Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney.
Oil <CLc1> fell further on Tuesday after slumping more
than $4 a day ago on speculation that a surprisingly weak
Hurricane Gustav likely spared key Gulf oil infrastructure.
[]
The dollar index <.DXY> climbed 0.8 percent to 77.75 after
hitting an eight-month high of 77.823.
"I do think there's potential for a bounce in the oil price
in the short term. It probably needs something to sort of turn
around, to give it some assistance," said Moore.
"One thing that might be relevant to oil markets going
forward is the OPEC meeting on Sept. 9," said Moore, referring
to the gathering in Vienna to discuss output policy.
Gold has lost more than 20 percent in value since spiking
to all-time high of $1,030.80 in March, mainly driven by profit
taking, oil's falls from record highs and a rebounding dollar.
"There's a bit of buying on the physical side because the
price is below $820 but the situation in Thailand has no
impact. Oil is still the main factor," said a dealer in Hong
Kong.
Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej declared a state of
emergency in Bangkok and gave the army control of public order
after a man died in overnight clashes between pro- and
anti-government protesters. []
Spot platinum <XPT=> dropped to $1,395.50/1,415.50 an ounce
from $1,439.00/1,451.00 late in London on concerns about demand
for autocatalysts due to poor car sales and a slowing U.S.
economy. Prices were below record high of $2,290 hit in March.
"Japanese sales of automobiles in August were below 200,000
cars, so it's very bad figure. The platinum price is under
pressure. It's a very bearish factor," said Kazuhiko Saito of
Interes Capital Management in Tokyo.
Saito pegged platinum's downside target at $1,350 an ounce
- a level last seen in late August, while gold could
potentially fall to $800.
Automobile sales in Japan, excluding 660cc minivehicles,
tumbled 14.9 percent in August year-on-year to 193,902
vehicles. Sales for August fell short of 200,000 vehicles for
the first time in 37 years. []
Autocatalysts, used to clean exhaust fumes, account for
more than 50 percent of global platinum demand.
The benchmark platinum contract on the Tokyo Commodity
Exchange, August 2009 <JPLc6>, fell 176 yen per gram to 4,809
yen. New York gold futures <GCZ8> lost $16.30 an ounce to
$818.90.
Spot palladium <XPD=> fell to $288.00/296.00 an ounce from
$297.00/305.00 an ounce. Silver <XAG=> edged down to
$13.35/13.41 an ounce from $13.40/13.46 an ounce late in
London.
Precious metals prices at 0433 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 814.20 -2.90 -0.35 -2.22
Spot Silver 13.35 -0.06 -0.45 -9.61
Spot Platinum 1395.50 -43.50 -3.02 -8.19
Spot Palladium 288.00 -10.00 -3.36 -21.74
TOCOM Gold 2855.00 -48.00 -1.65 -6.70
26927
TOCOM Platinum 4817.00 -168.00 -3.37 -9.78
14369
TOCOM Silver 466.00 -12.10 -2.53 -13.86
571
TOCOM Palladium 1026.00 -54.00 -5.00 -24.06
494
Euro/Dollar 1.4575
Dollar/Yen 108.25
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)
