* Gold down 1 pct on firm dollar after Obama win
* Oil also weaker, while Nikkei up 3 percent
* Platinum up on bargain hunting
(Recasts)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Gold fell more than 1 percent
on Wednesday as the dollar firmed after Democratic contender
Barrack Obama won election as the country's 44th chief
executive, stirring the prospect of new policies to banish poll
campaign uncertainty.
The dollar extended gains against a basket of major
currencies after posting its biggest one-day slide in 13 years
the previous session, which in theory reduced bullion's appeal
as an alternative investment.
Gold <XAU=> was trading at $750.75 an ounce, down $11.20
from New York's notional close on Tuesday, when it rallied
around 5 percent on a weak dollar. Follow-through buying pushed
up gold to a high of $768 on Wednesday before profit-taking
kicked in.
Obama captured the White House after defeating Republican
John McCain to make history as the first black U.S. president.
He faces a welter of challenges, from tackling an economic
crisis to ending the war in Iraq and trying to overhaul the
U.S. health care system. []
"Let's see what happens next. I think gold follows the
dollar movements, and you can say it's still in a range of $720
to $770 for the time being," said Ronald Leung, director of Lee
Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong.
"We will wait for the policy to revive the economy," he
said.
The dollar rose 1.5 percent against a basket of major
currencies <.DXY>, which triggered selling in crude oil. []
Weaker oil curbed gold's appeal as a hedge against inflation.
Some analysts say a win by Obama would be marginally better
for the dollar, if only because the Democrats already control
Congress. That would make it easier for a new administration to
push through activist policies to boost markets.
But some dealers said gains in stock markets could cushion
losses in gold. The broad-based Reuters/Jefferies CRB commodity
index <.CRB> rose more than 5 percent on Tuesday, and gold was
still supported by signs that a global recessionseemed to have
been averted for the moment as U.S. stocks jumped. []
"Given the significant rise in the price overnight, it
bodes well for the rest of the day. We may well want to test
the highs again in late afternoon, particularly around the
opening of Europe and London," said Darren Heathcote of
Investec Australia.
"I still don't think the market will particularly know what
a longer term effect is on the dollar for sometime yet as the
result of who wins. I find it very difficult to put a handle on
it."
Gold has rebounded more than 10 percent since falling to
13-month low at $680.80 in late October, when investors cashed
in bullion to pay losses in stock markets. The metal was still
below a two-month high of $931 also hit last month as it
struggled to revisit a record high of $1,030.80 in March.
The Nikkei <N.225> rose 3.06 percent on Wednesday to track
rallies in the United States.
Platinum <XPT=> was trading at $858.50 ounce, up $17.00
from New York's notional close on bargain hunting after
tumbling to a five-year low around $732 last week.
New York gold futures <GCZ8> fell $5.1 an ounce to $752.1.
For the latest U.S. election news, click on
[]
Precious metals prices at 0516 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 750.75 -11.20 -1.47 -9.84
Spot Silver 10.10 -0.07 -0.69 -31.62
Spot Platinum 858.50 17.00 +2.02 -43.52
Spot Palladium 208.00 1.50 +0.73 -43.48
TOCOM Gold 2401.00 88.00 +3.80 -21.54
43203
TOCOM Platinum 2768.00 130.00 +4.93 -48.16
14979
TOCOM Silver 324.50 13.00 +4.17 -40.02
607
TOCOM Palladium 682.00 26.00 +3.96 -49.52
523
Euro/Dollar 1.2800
Dollar/Yen 99.44
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
