* Gold up more than $2 after brief Weds dip below $800
* Indian, Mideast physical buyers seen stepping in
* Platinum drops 3 pct on demand fears
(Updates prices, adds comments)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Gold edged higher on Thursday
as bargain hunting and physical buying countered volatile oil
prices and recent gains in the U.S. dollar, helping boost
bullion after a brief dip to near its lowest in nine months.
Platinum fell more than 3 percent to its weakest in two
weeks, hit by concernover demand for autocatalysts after
automakers reported a 10thconsecutive month of U.S. sales
declines and talk that some automakers sold back inventories.
Gold <XAU=> rose to $802.30/803.30 an ounce from
$800.05/801.65 an ounce late in New York on Wednesday, when it
extended consecutive losses to a fourth day. It is still well
below the lifetime high of $1,030.80 struck in March.
"It looks like we are getting some kind of recovery. One
might say around $790 is going to provide support on the
downside. I think we need to break that to see a stronger move
lower," said Darren Heathcote of Investec Australia in Sydney.
"At $790-$800, physical buying seems to be coming in. We've
got immediate resistance coming in around $809 and probably
onwards to target something like $815," he said.
Gold fell as low as $789.05 an ounce on Wednesday, its
weakest in two weeks and near its nine-month low around $773
hit in mid-August. But demand from India, the world's largest
consumer, and also the Middle East helped stem the fall.
India is stepping up purchases during the festive season,
which peak in October with Diwali, the Hindu festival of
lights. Many marriages also take place during the festive
season, when gold jewellery forms an essential part of the
dowry basket.
Oil <CLc1> inched up onThursday as Hurricane Ike
strengthened rapidly, having settled 0.3 percent lower on fears
of slowing demand in the United States and other consuming
nations. []
Spot platinum <XPT=> dropped to $1,334.50/1,354.50 an ounce
from $1,377.50/1,397.50 late in New York on Wednesday -- well
below a record high of $2,290 an ounce struck in March.
The bencmark contract on Tokyo platinum futures, August
2009 <JPLc6>, erased early gains and funds sold back their
holdings. Romours have been circulating in the market that
automakers are selling back their platinum stocks due to poor
sales.
"If demand for cars is not good because of a slowdown in
the global economy, automakers may be required to cut their
stocks," said a dealer in Hong Kong. "We also see some long
liquidation in the market."
U.S. auto sales fell 15.5 percent to 1.25 million units or
to a seasonally adjusted, annualized rate of 13.72 million
units in August, marking the 10th straight month of declining
sales in the U.S. auto market -- the longest such downturn
since the 2001 recession. []
Autocatalysts, used to clean exhaust fumes, account for
more than half of global platinum use.
The dollar eased against the euro, hovering below an
eight-month high hit the previous day as investors trimmed
positions ahead of an interest rate decision by the European
Central Bank. []
New York gold futures <GCZ8> ell $1.2 an ounce to $807.0 an
ounce.
Precious metals prices at 0244 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 802.60 2.35 +0.29 -3.61
Spot Silver 12.87 -0.01 -0.08 -12.86
Spot Platinum 1337.00 -39.50 -2.87 -12.04
Spot Palladium 280.50 -5.00 -1.75 -23.78
TOCOM Gold 2804.00 19.00 +0.68 -8.37
16812
TOCOM Platinum 4578.00 -144.00 -3.05 -14.25
14168
TOCOM Silver 452.60 11.10 +2.51 -16.34
456
TOCOM Palladium 1000.00 -12.00 -1.19 -25.98
201
Euro/Dollar 1.4499
Dollar/Yen 108.12
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)
