* Gold bounces from 2-week low on rising oil
* Euro edges up against dollar, helps gold
(Updates prices)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Gold rebounded from a two-week
low on Monday after oil recovered from last week's near-record
decline, but recession worries could limit investor's appetite
for risky assets and keep bullion trade in a tight range.
Buying from Japanese speculators resurfaced after gold had
posted its biggest weekly fall in seven weeks as a dismal U.S.
jobs report on Friday sparked selling across the board. Other
precious metals also tracked gold higher.
Gold <XAU=> was at $760.35 an ounce, up $5.75 from New
York's notional close on Friday, when it fell as low as
$740.40. The metal was struggling to sustain gains after a
rally to a six-week high of $830.10 in October was met by heavy
selling.
Recent strength in the yen against the U.S. dollar spurred
buying from Japanese investors but gold prices are still at the
mercy of movements in stock markets and oil, said Yukuji
Sonoda, precious metals analyst at Daiichi Commodities in
Tokyo.
"The gold price will be moving in a small range of $750 to
$800. As long as the oil price is not so strong and stock
prices also fluctuate, gold will be moving in the same range,"
said Sonoda.
Oil <CLc1> rose $1.42 to $42.23 a barrel on Monday after
closing on Friday at $40.81, the lowest settlement since Dec.
10, 2004. Oil shed a quarter of its value last week, the
sharpest weekly fall since January 1991. []
Worries about rising inflation helped propel gold to a
record high of $1,030.80 in March but trading has since been
volatile. Gold hit a 13-month low of $680.80 in October, when a
sell-off in equities forced investors to cash in to cover
losses.
The volatility though doesn't seem to have scared off
retail investors, with the world's largest gold-backed
exchange-traded fund, the SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, saying it
held757.89 tonnes of gold as of Dec. 5, down just 0.23 tonnes
fromNov. 26. []
The euro edged up to $1.2748 <EUR=> after falling in New
York on Friday, when data showed U.S. employers cut payrolls by
a much larger-than-expected 533,000 in November, the sharpest
monthly loss since 1974. Markets were expecting 340,000 job
losses, according to Reuters data. []
"The strength in the euro offers some support for gold,
which could find resistance around $767," said a dealer in
Singapore, referring to the 5-day moving average.
Platinum <XPT=> was trading at $793.00 an ounce, up $5.00
on speculative buying in Japan, but uncertainties prevailed as
the White House and congressional negotiators sought to remove
differences over an emergency rescue for the auto industry.
"Many people think the problems faced by General Motors
will be settled. The reality is quite different. Even if the
U.S. government supplies some money, it's not going to solve
any problems," said Sonoda of Daiichi Commodities.
New York gold futures <GCZ9> added $9.0 an ounce to $761.2
in electronic trade.
Speculative gold players in the non-commercial category
boosted their net long positions to 84,369 long on gold futures
traded on COMEX at Dec. 2, up from 81,872 net long lots at Nov.
25, Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed.
Precious metals prices at 0237 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 760.35 5.75 +0.76 -8.69
Spot Silver 9.54 0.09 +0.95 -35.41
Spot Platinum 793.00 5.00 +0.63 -47.83
Spot Palladium 160.50 1.00 +0.63 -56.39
TOCOM Gold 2265.00 -16.00 -0.70 -25.98
18919
TOCOM Platinum 2374.00 11.00 +0.47 -55.53
5650
TOCOM Silver 281.30 -0.40 -0.14 -48.00
79
TOCOM Palladium 501.00 -16.00 -3.09 -62.92
103
Euro/Dollar 1.2750
Dollar/Yen 92.74
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Reporting by Lewa Pardomuan; Editing by Michael Urquhart)
