* Gold steadies near 2-month high despite weak oil
* Crude oil slips below $47, awaits OPEC meeting
* The euro dips against dollar, Nikkei down 1.3 pct
(Updates prices)
SINGAPORE, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Gold steadied around $818 an
ounce on Friday, heading for its biggest weekly percentage gain
in almost three months on recent dollar weakness and a surge in
oil prices.
Gold has gained over 20 percent from a 13-month low around
$680 an ounce in October, shrugging off weakness in other
commodities as it is seen as a safe-haven in times of turmoil.
It has also benefited from technical buying after the
precious metal regained $800 for the first time since early
December.
"I think people are still happy to buy gold as safe-haven.
We also heard the funds are short side," said Ronald Leung,
director of Lee Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong.
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the
SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, said its holdings rose 4.28 tonnes to
762.17 tonnes of gold as of Dec 11. []
"I think people are watching movements in the dollar.
That's all," Leung, referring to a relatively quiet trade in
Asia ahead of next week's U.S. Federal Reserve meeting on
interest rates.
Gold <XAU=> was at $818.15 an ounce, down $0.20 from New
York's notional close on Thursday, when it hit its highest
since mid-October of $833.80 an ounce on a weaker dollar.
The euro slipped to $1.3318 against the dollar <EUR=> but
dealers said the U.S. currency could face downward pressure on
expectations of an interest rate cut by the Fed next week.
[]
Oil <CLc1> slipped for the first time in three days on
Friday, after jumping nearly $6 in the past two days as the
OPEC president called for more "severe" production cuts at its
meeting next week, a move which could potentially lift gold
prices. []
Fears of rising energy costs helped propel gold to a record
of $1,030.80 in March before it slipped to track weaker oil,
and recently due to a sell-off in equities, which forced
investors to sell bullion to cover margin calls.
The Nikkei <> dropped 1.3 percent amid worries about
the fate of the U.S. auto industry bailout plan. []
"Actual demand is supporting gold prices," said Yukuji
Sonoda, precious metals analyst at Daiichi Commodities in
Tokyo, referring to physical buying by retail investors.
"The basic tone in gold has changed a little bit, owing to
a recovery in oil prices," said Sonoda, who pegged the upside
target at the 175-day moving average around $850.
Investors were closely watching OPEC for any more signals
on what some analysts perceive will be a further 1-2 million
barrels per day output cut due at the group's meeting next
week.
Platinum <XPT=> was trading at $823.50 an ounce, down $2.50
from New York's notional close, with sentiment weighed by
uncertainty over the U.S. bailout plan. More than 60 percent of
platinum use goes to autocatalysts to clean exhaust fumes.
Senate negotiators on Thursday night made progress toward a
possible compromise in last-ditch talks to salvage a proposed
$14 billion bailout of U.S. automakers. []
New York gold futures <GCZ9> fell $7.2 an ounce to $819.4
in electronic trade.
Precious metals prices at 0254 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 818.15 -0.20 -0.02 -1.75
Spot Silver 10.29 -0.01 -0.10 -30.33
Spot Platinum 823.50 -2.50 -0.30 -45.82
Spot Palladium 179.00 2.00 +1.13 -51.36
TOCOM Gold 2410.00 -3.00 -0.12 -21.24
17437
TOCOM Platinum 2454.00 -1.00 -0.04 -54.04
4473
TOCOM Silver 301.30 -2.50 -0.82 -44.31
145
TOCOM Palladium 547.00 -3.00 -0.55 -59.51
108
Euro/Dollar 1.3344
Dollar/Yen 91.57
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)
