* Gold down 1.7 pct after hitting 5-wk high above $800
* Citigroup gets $306 bln rescue from U.S. government
* Oil up over 1 percent, euro firms against dollar
* APEC leaders commit to quick economic action
(Update prices, adds quotes)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Gold fell nearly 2 percent on
Monday after rising briefly to a 5-week high above $800, with
dealers locking in profits after a two-day rally, but some
analysts said another round of safe-haven buying could be nigh.
Gold posted its biggest daily percentage gain in two months
on Friday as investors rushed to buy the metal on economic
uncertainties after shares of Citigroup <C.N> tumbled for a
fifth straight day. Sunday's $300 billion bailout for the No. 2
U.S. bank failed to completely dispel their
anxiety.[]
"The Citi news is another indication that we are not out of
the woods yet and more surprises could be on the way," said
analyst Pradeep Unni at Richcomm Global Services.
"The credit crisis and its ancillary news is likely to
please gold bulls, but sustainability would be a key issuue."
Gold <XAU=> fell $13.05 an ounce to $786.40 from Friday,
when it surged more than 7 percent. Prices hit a high of
$805.85 on Monday on a firm euro currency and oil, but buying
later subsided and trade was muted by a national holiday in
Japan.
With financial markets in chaos, the United States, China,
Japan and 18 other economies in Asia and the Americas promised
at an APEC summit in Peru to "take all necessary economic and
financial measures to resolve this crisis". []
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the
SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, said holdings rose by 3.06 tonnes to
755.06 tonnes as of Nov. 21. []
Speculative gold players in the non-commercial category
boosted their net long positions to 64,829 on gold futures
traded on COMEX at Nov. 18, from 63,959 long lots at Nov. 11,
Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed on Friday.
"There was a lot of disinvestment from gold, and I think
when the opportunity arrives, we might see investors diversify
back into gold," said David Moore, commodities analyst at
Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney. "I think it's quite
possible that gold will continue to firm."
Technically, gold still faces some resistance at the
100-day and 200-day averages around $830 and $873 an ounce,
said dealers.
Gold has rebounded from its 13-month low of $680.80 in
October, when a sell-off in equities forced investors to sell
bullion to cover losses. Although it remains 23 percent below a
record high of $1,030.80 hit in March, it has held up much
better than other commodities that are not at half their peaks.
The euro <EUR=> edged up to $1.2654 as the market digested
Citigroup's rescue plan. []
Oil <CLc1> gained more than 2 percent to around $51 a
barrel on hopes that OPEC might cut output again as early as
this week, which in theory boosted gold's appeal as a hedge
against inflation. []
Platinum <XPT=> traded at $817.00 an ounce, up $5.50 from
New York's notional close, to track early gains in gold.
Precious metals prices at 0640 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 787.90 -11.55 -1.44 -5.38
Spot Silver 9.51 -0.11 -1.14 -35.61
Spot Platinum 817.00 5.50 +0.68 -46.25
Spot Palladium 176.00 -4.00 -2.22 -52.17
Euro/Dollar 1.2670
Dollar/Yen 95.25
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by)
