* Gold rises further on firm oil
* Platinum up 1 pct but no signs of buying from automakers
(Updates prices, adds activity in physical market)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Gold extended gains on
Wednesday as fears of rising inflation, tensions between Russia
and the West and a rebounding euro spurred speculative buying.
Platinum rose as much as 1.8 percent to track gold but
gains may be limited with automakers still on the sidelines.
Palladium and silver also firmed.
Gold <XAU=> rose to $826.70/827.70 an ounce from
$822.90/824.30 an ounce late in New York on Tuesday, when it
gained more than $2 an ounce.
"Gold is still consolidating for the time being. But it
seems the market is still a little bit worried about the global
economy," said Dick Poon, manager precious metals at Heraeus
Ltd in Hong Kong.
Gold has bounced nearly 7 percent since tumbling to a
nine-month low around $773 in mid-August, but the metal is well
below a record high of $1,030.80 struck in March. Analysts said
chart-based support will hold prices above $800 an ounce.
"Private investors have gradually shown interest in gold,
and the oil price has also reached its bottom. Within this
week, it's possible for gold to reach $835 or $840," said
Yukuji Sonoda, precious metals analyst at Daiichi Commodities
in Tokyo.
Oil <CLc1> edged up around $117 a barrel on concerns a
tropical storm could disruptU.S. oil and natural gas production
in the Gulf of Mexico and on escalating tensions betweenthe
West and Russia over Georgia. []
The euro firmed to $1.4700 <EUR=> on short covering,
pulling away from a six-month low of $1.4570 hit on trading
platform EBS on Tuesday. []
In the physical market, jewellers in India, the world's
largest consumer of gold, paid a premium to secure scarce
supplies of the metal to meet surging demand ahead of the busy
marriage season. []
"Gold near $800 remains vulnerable in the near term to a
stronger dollar," said Jeffrey Nichols, managing director of
American Precious Metals Advisors.
"But it isunderpinned by rising physical demand in key
global markets, deteriorating macroeconomic and financial
environments, accelerating inflation, and tightsupply/demand
fundamentals," he said.
The new benchmark contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange,
August 2009 <JAUc6>, was at 2,925 yen per gram after opening at
2,926 yen.
Spot platinum <XPT=> rose to $1,422.50/1,442.00 an ounce
from $1,409.50/1,429.50 late in New York as bargain buying
persisted after the metal sank to an 11-month low around $1,296
last week.
"Automakers haven't entered the market yet. They will wait
and see," said Sonoda of Daiichi Commodities, who pegged
support around $1,400 an ounce.
The bulk of the world's platinum is used by automakers in
autocatalyst systems that scrub exhaust fumes of dangerous and
environmentally damaging chemicals. Platinum prices are well
below a lifetime high of $2,290 hit in early March.
Spot palladium <XPD=> inched up to $288.00/296.00 an ounce
from $282.00/290.00 an ounce. Silver <XAG=> edged up to
$13.66/13.72 an ounce from $13.56/13.64 an ounce late in New
York.
New York gold futures <GCZ8> added $4.8 an ounce to
$832.90.
Precious metals prices at 0733 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 827.60 3.80 +0.46 -0.61
Spot Silver 13.67 0.11 +0.81 -7.45
Spot Platinum 1425.50 15.50 +1.10 -6.22
Spot Palladium 288.00 6.00 +2.13 -21.74
Euro/Dollar 1.4713
Dollar/Yen 109.18
(Editing by Michael Urquhart)
