* Platinum dips 7 pct, palladium 5 pct, on demand fears
* Japanese auto sales numbers tumble in November
* Gold, silver slide as dollar firms, oil slips
(Recasts, adds comment, previous SINGAPORE)
By Jan Harvey
LONDON, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Platinum tumbled 7 percent in
Europe on Monday as weak Japanese auto sales data further
emphasised poor demand from carmakers, while gold came under
pressure from a firmer dollar and falling oil prices.
Spot platinum slipped to a session low of $808.50 an ounce,
a one-week low, and was trading at $809.50/829.50 at 1033 GMT,
against $871.50 an ounce late on Friday. Its sister metal
palladium <XPD=> fell nearly 5 percent to $178/188 from $186.50.
Worries over falling car sales has already led platinum to
slump some 65 percent since it hit an all-time high of $2,290 an
ounce in March.
Weak Japanese car sales data on Monday spurred fresh
selling. Sales fell 27.3 percent in November from a year before,
the Japan Automobile Dealers Association said on Monday.
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Falling U.S. car sales were largely priced into the market,
but the same trend from elsewhere can push prices further down,
traders said.
"The market is now reacting to uncertainty about how the
Chinese market will fare going forwards," said Tom Kendall,
precious metals strategist at Mitsubishi Corporation. "Japanese
automakers, who were regarded as best managed and strongest
financially, are clearly facing the same problems as all the
others."
Selling picked up momentum shortly after the European
opening after a weak session in Asia. In addition to the poor
demand outlook and a slightly firmer dollar, seasonal factors
came into play, traders said.
"A lot of people are exiting the market at this time of
year, turning the metal back into cash," said Commerzbank trader
Rory McVeigh. "Speculators and traders holding small balances
want to generate cash for the year-end."
"The thinness of the market is exaggerating some moves,
especially after a light Thursday and Friday because of
Thanksgiving," he added.
Traders awaited U.S. car sales data due on Tuesday to give
fresh momentum to trade.
DOLLAR FIRMS
Gold prices also slipped, pressured by a marginally firmer
dollar against the euro and a $2 slide in oil prices, which can
dent interest in commodities as an asset class.
The dollar strengthened 0.4 percent against the euro. The
European Central Bank is widely expected to cut its interest
rates later this week. []
Oil prices fell below $52 a barrel after OPEC opted to defer
a production cut until mid-December at its meeting on Saturday.
[]
Spot gold <XAG=> was trading at $796.70/798.30 an ounce,
down from $813.00 an ounce late on Friday, while spot silver
<XAG=> was at $9.85/9.93 an ounce from $10.26 an ounce.
A spate of U.S. economic data due this week is likely to
affect currency markets and gold.
"The event risk is really high this week, starting with the
US ISM Manufacturing index which is likely to slip further to a
fresh 16-year low of 37.5 from 38.9," said Pradeep Unni, a
senior analyst at Richcomm Global Services.
"However the prime focus would be on the U.S. non-farm
payrolls on Friday which is likely fall negative for the 11th
straight month and by the most since September 2001."
(Reporting by Jan Harvey; editing by William Hardy)
