* Platinum tumbles 6 percent to near one-year low
* Gold down 1 percent as rally falters
(Adds graphic, updates prices to afternoon)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Platinum slipped more than 6
percent on Tuesday to its lowest since mid-September last year,
on waning demand from automakers and general weakness in
precious metals that saw gold dip back below $800 an ounce.
Gold's fall after rising more than 1 percent in New York
shows the metal is vulnerable to gains in the dollar. Silver
also dropped, palladium hit its lowest level since mid-June
2006 and benchmark Tokyo platinum futures struck a one-year
low.
Spot platinum <XPT=> dropped to $1,307.00/1,327.50 an ounce
from $1,386/1,406 an ounce late in New York, with falls in
Japanese futures adding to selling pressure. It fell as low as
$1,300 at one point.
"EU autommobile production decreases. Both gold and
platinum continue to be bearish. Platinum may be fall to below
$1,200," said Kazuhiko Saito of Interes Capital Management in
Tokyo.
Platinum hit a record high of $2,290 an ounce in March
after a power shortage in main producer South Africa disrupted
mining and triggered supply worries.
It rallied as much as 50 percent in 2008, but has dropped
more than 40 percent since hitting the record peak due to
profit taking, a slowing U.S. economy and the dowturn in U.S.
auto sales that has raised fears of falling demand for
autocatalysts, the major use for the metal.
Earlier in August, auto industry forecaster J.D. Power took
a more bearish view on western European car sales after a
dismal sales month in July when volumes fell 6.7 percent to
1.17 million new vehicles. []
"From the charts, platinum seemed to have returned the
premiums from the earlier South Africa crisis and in fact we
are almost at one-year lows. I am looking at the $1,200-$1,250
region for support now," said Adrian Koh, analyst at Phillip
Futures.
"Looks like a bad week for precious metals," he said.
Gold <XAU=> fell to $790.00/792.50 an ounce from
$799.65/801.05 late in New York on Monday, when it briefly
regained $800 in a technical rebound, after falling to its
lowest level in nine months around $773 an ounce last week.
Gold was well below a lifetime high of $1,030.80 hit in
March.
For a graphic showing platinum and gold prices, click on:
https://customers.reuters.com/d/graphics/MKTS_XPTAU0808.gif
"General sentiment for gold remains weak and I guess we are
likely to see more selling on strength. For near-term support,
I am currently looking at the $770 region," said Koh of Phillip
Futures.
"If we move below that, then the $750s will be a very
important level to look at," he said.
The dollar barely budged against a basket of currencies on
Tuesday, taking a break from its sharp two-week surge as
investors kept an eye on commodity prices for any further drop
that could boost the greenback. []
New York gold futures <GCZ8> fell $9.1 an ounce to $796.60.
Spot palladium <XPD=> fell to $273.50/281.50 an ounce from
$283.00/291.00 an ounce. Silver <XAG=> edged down to
$12.68/12.76 an ounce from $13.07/13.13 an ounce.
The most active Tokyo platinum contract for June 2009
delivery <0#JPL:> on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange dropped 277
yen per gram to 4,578 yen.
Precious metals prices at 0451 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 790.25 -8.30 -1.04 -5.10
Spot Silver 12.68 -0.50 -3.79 -14.15
Spot Platinum 1307.00 -76.00 -5.50 -14.01
Spot Palladium 273.00 -17.00 -5.86 -25.82
TOCOM Gold 2808.00 -25.00 -0.88 -8.24
43307
TOCOM Platinum 4578.00 -277.00 -5.71 -14.25
25978
TOCOM Silver 452.10 -13.20 -2.84 -16.43
957
TOCOM Palladium 982.00 -36.00 -3.54 -27.31
1305
Euro/Dollar 1.4693
Dollar/Yen 109.85
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Ben Tan)
