PRECIOUS-Gold falls nearly 1 pct on oil, silver off 31-year peak

                                
 * Gold to end retracement around $1,444-technicals
[ID:nL3E7FC03N]
                                
 * Coming Up: U.S. ICSC chain stores; 1145 GMT

 (Updates prices)	
                                
 By Lewa Pardomuan	
                                
 SINGAPORE, April 12 (Reuters) - Gold slipped nearly 1
percent on Tuesday, hovering below a record high and silver was
off a 31-year peak hit in the previous session after long-term
commodity bull Goldman Sachs advised investors to lock-in
trading profits before oil and other markets reverse.	
                                
 But a weaker dollar could cushion the fall as two top U.S.
Federal Reserve officials, Janet Yellen and William Dudley, said
the central bank should stick to its super-easy monetary policy,
with inflation not a threat and unemployment too high.
[ID:nN11296347]  	
                                
  Spot gold fell $10.66 an ounce to $1,456.09 an ounce
by 0535 GMT. Bullion struck a lifetime high above $1,476 an
ounce on Monday on the prospect of a weaker dollar.	
                                
 "Some people may take profits and reduce positions.
Everybody knows that Goldman Sachs recommended to reduce
positions. That's why the market is a bit scared," said Dick
Poon, manager of precious metals at Heraeus in Hong Kong.	
                                
 "I think sentiment is still bullish. It's still
consolidating right now." 	
                                
 Dealers also noted some selling related to escalating fears
over radiation in Japan, but the physical market still attracted
bargain hunting from speculators and jewellers. 	
                                
 Japan raised the severity of its nuclear crisis to the
highest level on Tuesday, putting it on a par with the world's
worst nuclear disaster at Chernobyl in 1986 because of the
amount of radiation released into the air and sea.
[ID:nLDE73B01P]	
                                
 Spot gold may end the current retracement around
$1,444 per ounce and resume its uptrend thereafter, according to
Wang Tao, who is a Reuters market analyst for commodities and
energy technicals.	
                                
 For a 24-hour gold technical outlook: 	
                                
 http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/WT1/20111204090716.jpg 	
                                
 Spot silver hardly changed at $40.12 an ounce, below
a 31-year high at $41.93 struck on Monday. 	
                                
 Goldman noted "nascent signs of oil demand destruction in
the United States" that could drag prices down, as well as the
possibility of a Libya ceasefire. Nigeria's elections, which had
added further risk to oil markets, had thus far not caused
supply disruptions, it added. [ID:nN11303064] 	
                                
 "Some investors are using the Goldman Sachs recommendation
as a reason to take profits. I would put the support level at
around $1,450 level and of course, it is breached, we could see
a much sharper retracement all the way to about $1,430 or even
less than that," said a dealer in Singapore.	
                                
 "I think the fundamentals for gold remain strong. This is
just profit taking after a huge run-up. The outlook for the
dollar is also still shaky."	
                                
 Concerns about inflation also remain, traders said.	
                                
 The International Monetary Fund on Monday said soaring oil
prices and inflation in emerging economies pose new risks to
global recovery but are not yet strong enough to derail it.
[ID:nN08193089]	
                                
 U.S. gold futures for June dropped $10.6 an ounce
$1,457.5 an ounce. 	
                                
 In other markets, the euro retreated from Friday's
15-month high around $1.4485 to $1.4435, but traders say the
January high of $1.4582 remains in play. 	
                                
 Tokyo stocks fell around 2 percent on growing worries the
impact of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami may be more severe
that originally expected.        	
 Precious metals prices 0535 GMT
 Metal             Last    Change   Pct chg  YTD pct chg  Turnover
 Spot Gold        1456.09  -10.66    -0.73      2.58
 Spot Silver        40.12  -0.05     -0.12     30.01
 Spot Platinum    1774.24  -6.06     -0.34      0.38
 Spot Palladium    771.72  -9.63     -1.23     -3.47
 TOCOM Gold       3932.00  -91.00    -2.26      5.44        91953
 TOCOM Platinum   4808.00 -141.00    -2.85      2.39        20410
 TOCOM Silver      108.00   -5.40    -4.76     33.33         3872
 TOCOM Palladium  2102.00   -91.00   -4.15      0.24          268
 Euro/Dollar       1.4404
 Dollar/Yen         83.84
 TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in  $ per ounce.
	
                                
 	
                                
 	
                                
 	
                                
 	
                                
    	
                                
  	
 (Reporting by Lewa Pardomuan; Editing by)	
 	
 	
 	
                                
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