(Recasts, PVS TOKYO)
By Lewa Pardomuan
LONDON, May 13 (Reuters) - Gold slipped on Tuesday and was
likely to trade in a range as the dollar firmed against other
currencies, robbing the metal some of its appeal as an
alternative investment.
In other precious metals, platinum dropped more than 2
percent after rising to its highest level in almost two months
on Monday on speculative buying following the launch of U.S.
platinum exchange-traded notes.
Spot gold <XAU=> fell to $876.25/877.25 an ounce from
$884.60/886.00 late in New York, after earlier hitting an
intraday low of $874.75 an ounce.
"We're stilll looking for more sideways action. Basically,
there is physical demand that's returned to the market below
$900 and that gives us some modest support," said David Holmes,
director of metals sales at Dresdner Kleinwort.
"Also, we did see some institutional investor interest as we
dipped to the $850 level last week. On the upside, there just
seems to be more caution and it's more of a stretch for the
market to get to $900 right now."
The most active June gold futures contract <GCM8> on the
COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell $7.9 to
$877.0 an ounce.
Gold has struggled to recapture $900 as speculators booked
profits since pushing up prices to a lifetime high of $1,030.80
an ounce on March 17 on record high oil, which raised its appeal
as a hedge against inflation, and a struggling dollar.
"Perhaps further weakness in oil will also weigh on gold. I
think it will be in a range, unless we see some substantial
news. The topside is $890 to $900," said Adrian Koh, an analyst
at Philip Futures in Singapore.
"But on the downside, a move below $870 should bring us much
lower. Perhaps we may see $845 level again," said Koh, referring
to a four-month low hit in early May.
Crude oil <CLc1> lost 58 cents to $123.65 a barrel after
falling as low as $123.10. On Monday, it hit a record $126.40.
The dollar jumped against a basket of currencies but gains
were capped by the risk that U.S. retail sales data due at 1230
GMT on Tuesday may cloud expectations for a pause in the U.S.
rate cut cycle. []
Spot platinum <XPT=> fell to $2,053/2,073 an ounce from
$2,099/2,119 late in New York on Monday, when it rose as high as
$2,103 an ounce -- its best level since March 17.
"I think platinum faces strong resistance around the $2,100
to $2,120 regions. It's going to need some really bullish news
to move above those regions," said Koh of Philip Futures.
Investment bank UBS <UBSN.VX> launched two ETNs offering
long and short trading strategies in platinum last week. ETNs,
unlike exchange-traded funds, do not purchase physical platinum
to back the number of shares sold.
Palladium <XPD=> dipped to $434/449 an ounce from
$436/444 in late New York. Silver <XAG=> edged down to
$17.02/17.08 an from $17.12/17.18 in New York.
(Editing by Peter Blackburn)
