* Gold edges below $800 again, dollar weighs
* Platinum extends losses; TOCOM at 1-year low
* Oil slumps $1 as strong dollar counters storm fears
(Updates prices)
SINGAPORE, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Gold slipped below $800 on
Tuesday after the dollar struck a one-year high against a
basket of other currencies, prompting speculators to ditch
their holdings and shift some of their money back to
currencies.
Other precious metals also dropped, with platinum falling
almost 2 percent on worries about demand for autocalysts due to
poor car sales in key markets such as the United States, Japan
and China. Tokyo platinum futures hit a 1-year low.
Gold <XAU=> fell 0.4 percent to to $798.55/799.55 an ounce
from $802.25/803.60 an ounce late in New York on Monday, having
hit an intraday high of $803.50 an ounce.
Bullion has fallen more than 19 percent since hitting a
four-month high of $987.75 an ounce in mid-July but stabilised
around $800 an ounce -- still up 14 percent from a year ago.
Gold was well below a lifetime high of $1,030.80 hit in
March and within sight of a nine-month low of $773.90 struck in
mid-August. Festive demand especially from main consumer India
was likely to offer support at lower levels, dealers said.
"The dollar's strength has pulled down the gold market. But
it looks like there's a bit of support at below $800," said
Ronald Leung, director of Lee Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong,
referring to physical demand from jewellers.
The dollar index <.DXY>, a gauge of the greenback's
performance against a basket of six currencies, hit another
one-year high on Tuesday after the U.S. government seized
control of Fannie Mae <FNM.N> and Freddie Mac <FRE.N>. []
"The range is maybe between $780 and $820 for the time
being. Speculators are only on the selling side. They may buy
back on short covering," said Leung.
India is stepping up purchases during the festive season,
which peaks in October with Diwali, the Hindu festival of
lights. Dealers also saw purchases from jewellers in Indonesia
ahead of the Eid al-Fitri Muslim holidays in October.
Investors also watched oil for direction after U.S. crude
futures <CLc1> fell more than $1 as traders shed their
commodity positions to join the rally in the dollar and
anticipated OPEC would keep output targets unchanged at
Tuesday's meeting. []
Spot platinum <XPT=> fell 1.8 percent to $1,312.50/1,334.50
an ounce from $1,337.00/1,357.50 late in New York on Monday,
when it tumbled nearly 4 percent.
Worries about falling demand for autocatalysts, a slowing
U.S. economy and profit-taking have dragged down platinum by
more than 40 percent from its record high of $2,290 in March.
The benchmark platinum contract on the Tokyo Commodity
Exchange, August 2009 <JAUc6>, ended the morning session 212
yen per gram lower at 4,502 yen, having hit an intraday low of
4,484 yen -- its weakest since late August 2007.
"Fund money has shifted out of the commodities markets to
stocks and currencies. It's a bearish mood in Tokyo commodities
markets," said Kazuhiko Saito of Interes Capital Management in
Tokyo.
"Demand is very bad. Automakers are not buying," said
Saito, adding that ash platinum may trade below $1,200 by
end-September, referring to a level last seen in March 2007.
Autocatalysts, used to clean exhaust fumes, account for
more than 50 percent of global demand. China's passenger car
sales fell in August from a year earlier, the first monthly
decline in more than two years as a slowing economy and the
Beijing Olympics kept would-be car buyers from showrooms.
[]
Precious metals prices at 0248 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 798.70 -2.65 -0.33 -4.08
Spot Silver 12.00 -0.04 -0.33 -18.75
Spot Platinum 1314.00 -19.50 -1.46 -13.55
Spot Palladium 258.50 1.00 +0.39 -29.76
TOCOM Gold 2779.00 -65.00 -2.29 -9.18
23703
TOCOM Platinum 4502.00 -212.00 -4.50 -15.68
15892
TOCOM Silver 418.90 -19.10 -4.36 -22.57
733
TOCOM Palladium 918.00 -49.00 -5.07 -32.05
391
Euro/Dollar 1.4048
Dollar/Yen 107.39
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Reporting by Lewa Pardomuan; Editing by )
