(Recasts, updates with closing prices, market activity, adds
NEW YORK to dateline)
By Frank Tang and Atul Prakash
NEW YORK/LONDON, April 15 (Reuters) - Gold ended higher but
off its session peak on Tuesday after key U.S. data prompted
bullion investors to trim trading positions, but record-high oil
prices underpinned the market.
The metal <XAU=>, seen as a hedge against oil-led inflation
and an alternative investment to the U.S. currency, climbed to a
high of $936.50 an ounce and was at $927.60/928.40 by New York's
last quote at 2:15 p.m. EDT (1815 GMT), against $925.30/926.10
late in New York on Monday.
"Oil is clearly a factor. Technically also, gold looks
better because it broke through a weak trend line resistance,"
said Michael Jansen, analyst at J.P. Morgan Securities.
"But I think we will continue to consolidate. The recovery
from under $900 is not hugely convincing and there are still
concerns that the physical market is very subdued. Overall, we
will tend to trade in the $900-$950 range for a bit longer."
U.S. crude futures <CLc1> ended up $2.03 at $113.79 a
barrel, after setting a record high of $113.99 earlier. It has
been up about 18 percent from the start of the year and is
averaging near $100.
But gains in bullion prices were limited as the dollar rose
after data showed a bigger-than-expected rise in U.S. producer
prices last month, suggesting the Federal Reserve may not
continue cutting interest rates quite so aggressively.
A firmer dollar makes gold costlier for holders of other
currencies and often lowers bullion demand.
"We expect the next target to be around $950. Still, it
might take a bit of time to reach that level. The market remains
shy after the recent price correction," Frederic Panizzutti,
metals analyst at MKS Finance, said.
Gold slipped to a two-month low of $872.90 an ounce in early
April after hitting a record high of $1,030.80 on March 17 in a
broad commodities sell-off, triggered by a rise in the dollar
and some weakness in oil prices.
TECHNICAL RESISTANCE
Analysts said gold may hover in a range in the near term,
but had potential to gain substantially in the long run.
"Gold still has to overcome strong technical resistance,"
said James Moore, precious metals analyst at
TheBullionDesk.com.
"But given the ongoing recessionary/inflationary fears and
liquidity issues dogging the credit market, we remain bullish in
the mid- to longer-term and expect gold to reclaim $1,000 later
in the year," he said in a market report.
Investors awaited the U.S. March consumer price index on
Wednesday for the dollar's direction, which may affect gold.
In the physical sector, purchases from India, the world's
largest gold consumer, kept the physical market alive during the
wedding season, but wild swings in bullion prices crimped demand
in other parts of Asia. []
In other markets, U.S. gold futures for June delivery <GCM8>
settled up $3.30 at $932 an ounce.
Spot platinum <XPT=> rose to a high of $2,000 an ounce and
was last quoted at $1,970/1,980 from its previous finish of
$1,958/1,968 on Monday. Silver <XAG=> edged up at $17.79/17.84
an ounce from Monday's close of $17.78/17.83 an ounce, and
palladium <XPD=> fell $12 to $447/452 an ounce.
(Additional reporting by Alastair Sharp in London, editing by
Matthew Lewis)
