UPDATE 2-Gold barely changed near 3-week low,firm dollar weighs

                                
 (Updates prices, adds activity in physical sector)
                                
 By Lewa Pardomuan
                                
 SINGAPORE, April 24 (Reuters) - Gold barely moved on
Thursday and held near a 3-week low after the dollar bounced
against the euro, prompting investors to liquidate some of
their holdings.
                                
 Gold <XAU=> was at $905.75/906.75 an ounce, hardly changed
from $905.50/906.70 an ounce late in New York on Wednesday,
when it hit an intraday low of $897.10 an ounce -- its weakest
since April 3.
                                
 While the long-term outlook for gold remained bullish given
record-high oil and expectations of further interest rate cuts
in the United States, attempts to revisit a lifetime high of
$1,030.80 hit on March 17 have been met by profit taking.
                                
 "I think it's not impossible that we'd see gold prices get
in back to the high $900s or even the low $1,000s," said David
Moore, an analyst at Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney.
                                
 "Our view still is there's a potential for gold to spike
higher over the next couple of months, although a lot would
depend on what happens with the U.S. dollar and also the Fed's
implementation of monetary policy."
                                
 The U.S. Federal Reserve's next policy meeting is due on
April 29-30 and investors believe it will cut its benchmark
overnight rate by a further quarter percentage point, to 2
percent. Lower rates boost gold's appeal as an alternative
investment.
                                
 But in the physical sector, jewellers took advantage of the
drop in prices to stock up, with main consumer India abuzz with
activity during the wedding season and ahead of a religious
festival. [ID:nSP28857]
                                
 "Although the trend still carries a bearish bias, selling
is likely to end in the near term and at the key supports of
$890 and $872," said Pradeep Unni, analyst at Vision
Commodities Services in Dubai.
                                
 The euro fell to $1.5859 <EUR=>, having reached an all-time
high above $1.60 earlier this week. The dollar rose to 103.58
yen <JPY=> but stayed below a two-month high of 104.66 hit last
week.
                                
 Gold futures for June delivery <GCM8> on the COMEX division
of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell $1.7 an ounce to
$907.3 an ounce.
                                
 Platinum regained $2,000 after a sharp drop earlier in the
day triggered bargain hunting. Tokyo platinum futures were also
off lows.
                                
 Spot platinum <XPT=> rose to $2,001/2,011 an ounce from
$1,991.50/2,001.50 late in New York.
                                
 The most active Tokyo platinum futures <0#JPL:> fell 6 yen
per gram to 6,521 yen but off an intraday low of 6,417 yen.
                                
 Both cash and futures markets had been under pressure after
Mitsui Mining and Smelting Co Ltd <5706.T> said it has
developed a new catalyst for diesel engine cars that replaces
platinum with much-cheaper silver. [ID:nT262310]
                                
 Silver <XAG=> edged up to $17.15/17.21 an ounce from
$17.14/17.20 an ounce. Spot palladium <XPD=> rose to $445/450
an ounce from $441.50/447.50 an ounce.
  Precious metals prices at 0617 GMT
 Metal             Last    Change  Pct chg  YTD pct chg
Turnover
 Spot Gold         904.75    1.55   +0.17      8.65
 Spot Silver        17.15    0.05   +0.29     16.11
 Spot Platinum    2001.00   10.00   +0.50     31.64
 Spot Palladium    445.00    3.00   +0.68     20.92
 TOCOM Gold       3042.00  -32.00   -1.04     -0.59       
35998
 TOCOM Platinum   6515.00  -12.00   -0.18     22.03       
17786
 TOCOM Silver      578.80  -15.30   -2.58      6.99        
1414
 TOCOM Palladium  1518.00  -23.00   -1.49     12.36        
1194
 Euro/Dollar       1.5854
 Dollar/Yen        103.69
 TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
 (Editing by Michael Urquhart)