* Gold, silver hit 10-day lows on deleveraging
* U.S. stocks down 6 percent on recession worries
* Platinum, palladium slip 8 percent on demand fears
(Recasts, updates with quotes, closing prices, market
activity, adds NEW YORK dateline/byline)
By Frank Tang and Jan Harvey
NEW YORK/LONDON, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Precious metals prices
fell across the board on Monday, with gold and silver hitting
10-day lows, as a sharply lower stock market and a higher
dollar triggered a sell-off in all precious metals and other
commodities.
Gold slipped nearly 5 percent to its weakest level since
Nov. 21, while platinum and palladium tumbled 8 percent as
investors fretted over the outlook for demand.
"Right now, it's still all about stocks and about the
dollar. We have very little independent pricing at the moment,"
said Frank McGhee, head precious metals trader at Integrated
Brokerage Services.
"I would not be surprised to see if gold futures can run
down to the $700 level potentially," McGhee said.
Spot gold <XAU=> was at $775.70 at 2:15 p.m. EST (1915
GMT), down 4.6 percent from Friday's close of $813.00. Silver
<XAG=> fell to $9.30, 9.4 percent lower than its Friday close
of $10.26.
U.S. gold futures for February delivery <GCG9> settled down
$42.20, or 5.2 percent, at $776.80 an ounce on the COMEX
division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Gold was already weaker this morning in Asia on falling
oil prices and, as crude oil accelerated its decline in
European trading and the start of trading in the U.S., gold
came under pressure," Dresdner Kleinwort consultant Peter
Fertig said.
The broad-based Reuters/Jefferies CRB commodities index
<.CRB> tumbled more than 3 percent as oil prices dropped about
10 percent after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries opted over the weekend to wait until mid-December to
cut output. []
Gold tends to move in line with crude because it is bought
as a hedge against oil-led inflation and weaker oil prices
undermine interest in commodities as an asset class.
The dollar, the other main external driver of gold, firmed
against the euro amid expectations of a half-point rate cut by
the European Central Bank on Thursday. []
Euro zone manufacturing activity fell to a record low in
November and the outlook remains grim, private sector data
showed. []
A spate of U.S. economic data due this week is likely to
affect currency markets and the precious metals.
"The prime focus would be on the U.S. non-farm payrolls on
Friday, which is likely to fall negative for the 11th straight
month, and by the most since September 2001," said Pradeep
Unni, a senior analyst at Richcomm Global Services.
PLATINUM TUMBLES
Platinum slipped nearly 8 percent as weak Japanese auto
sales data emphasized poor demand from carmakers.
Spot platinum <XPT=> slipped to a session low of $798.50 an
ounce, and was later at $794.50 an ounce, down 8.8 percent from
its previous finish of $871.50 an ounce late on Friday.
Sister metal palladium <XPD=> was at $170.50, 8.6 percent
lower than Friday's late quote of $186.50.
Worries over falling car sales already have led platinum to
slump some 65 percent from its all-time high of $2,290 an ounce
in March.
(Editing by Walter Bagley)
