* Gold drops from 2-month high to track falling oil
* Crude sinks more than $2 after U.S. auto bailout stalls
* Nikkei down more than 5 percent
(Updates prices, adds quotes)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Gold slipped more than 1
percent on Friday, a day after hitting a 2-month high, as the
collapse of a U.S. auto industry bailout pumelled oil prices
and triggered technical selling.
U.S. talks to bail out America's top automakers with a $14
billion rescue package collapsed, igniting a sell-off in Asian
stock markets and sending the U.S. dollar to a 13-year low
against the yen. []
Gold <XAU=> was at $808.00 an ounce, down $10.35 from New
York's notional close, having hit an intraday high of $822.95
-- not far from a 2-month high of $833.80 on Thursday.
"It's a combination of three factors: oil's slide, the
failure of the (auto) bailout and the failure to breach key
technical resistance at $830," said analyst Pradeep Unni at
Richcomm Global Services, referring to the price fall.
Oil <CLc1> dropped more than $2 as last-ditch talks to bail
out the U,S. auto industry failed, raising prospects of a
worsening economic slowdown in the world's largest oil
consumer. []
The decline in oil came as bullion was heading for its
biggest weekly percentage gain in almost three months. Gold has
gained as much as 22 percent from a 13-month low of around $680
an ounce in October, shrugging off weakness in other
commodities as it is seen as a safe-haven in times of turmoil.
Dealers also expected investors to buy gold on dips.
"I think people are still happy to buy gold as a
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.
The euro slipped to $1.3254 against the dollar <EUR=>, but
dealers said the U.S. currency could face downward pressure on
expectations of a Fed rate cut next week. []
Fears of rising energy costs helped propel gold to a record
$1,030.80 an ounce 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 <> tumbled 5.6 percent on Friday and erased
more than half its gains made this week, led lower by
automakers such as Toyota Motor Corp <7203.T>. []
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 $801.50 an ounce, down
$24.50 from New York's notional close, but selling was muted.
More than 60 percent of platinum use is in autocatalysts to
clean vehicle exhaust fumes.
"We've actually seen buying of platinum ingots by Japanese
investors because the price has dropped sharply. But in terms
of sentiment, there's so much uncertainty in the market," said
a dealer in Tokyo.
Platinum has lost more than 60 percent in value since
hitting a life high of $2,290 in March.
New York gold futures <GCZ9> fell $17.5 an ounce to $809.1
in electronic trade.
Precious metals prices at 0722 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 808.00 -10.35 -1.26 -2.97
Spot Silver 10.13 -0.17 -1.65 -31.42
Spot Platinum 801.50 -24.50 -2.97 -47.27
Spot Palladium 171.50 -5.50 -3.11 -53.40
TOCOM Gold 2330.00 -83.00 -3.44 -23.86
64476
TOCOM Platinum 2325.00 -130.00 -5.30 -56.45
18484
TOCOM Silver 290.50 -13.30 -4.38 -46.30
358
TOCOM Palladium 515.00 -35.00 -6.36 -61.88
401
Euro/Dollar 1.3262
Dollar/Yen 89.64
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Ian Geoghegan)
