* Gold steadies after hitting 2-week low below $800
* Physical buying help cushion falls
(Updates prices, adds details)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Gold advanced on bargain
hunting on Wednesday, after falling to its weakest in two weeks
below $800 an ounce the previous day, but gains may be capped
by a firming U.S. dollar.
Platinum bounced after tumbling to its lowest level in
nearly two weeks but poor car sales weighed on sentiment and
dealers awaited Wednesday's release of U.S. auto sales for
August for clues on demand. Palladium and silver also rebounded
from lows.
Gold <XAU=> rose to $805.90/806.90 an ounce from
$804.90/806.25 an ounce late in New York on Tuesday, when it
fell as low as $790.40 after oil dropped and the dollar
rallied.
"Failing to hold $800 probably means we could retest the
$770 supports again. Maybe physical buying will help but with
the selling in the euro and oil, I think sentiments are still
on the downside," said Adrian Koh, analyst at Phillip Futures.
"I guess for the very near-term, $815-$820 should provide a
bit of a cap or resistance," he said.
Gold struck a nine-month low around $773 in mid-August, and
although it has since rebounded, the metal is well below a
lifetime high of $1,030.80 hit in March.
Lower prices attracted buying before the festive season in
main consumer India, where gold imports in August jumped 45
percent from a year ago. []
Oil <CLc1> slipped half a dollar to near $109, deepening
this week's sharp drop as traders looked past Hurricane Gustav.
[]
The dollar index <.DXY> added 0.1 percent at 78.101, near a
10-1/2-month high of 78.310 hit on Tuesday.
Spot platinum <XPT=> firmed to $1,401.50/1,421.50 an ounce
from $1,392.00/1,412.00 late in New York. It fell to $1,363.50
on Tuesday, its weakest since August 21.
"The platinum market is showing resilience, with
bargain-hunting buying emerging at around $1,400, said Yuki
Sonoda, adviser to president at Daiichi Commodities Co.
"It looks like a level of $1,400 is forming a floor.
Automakers seasonally resume buying in autumn, so that is
giving us feeling of stability," he said.
Worries about falling demand for autocalysts, a slowing
U.S. economy and profit taking have dragged down platinum from
record highs of $2,290 struck in March. Autocatalysts, used to
clean exhaust fumes, account for more than 50 percent of global
demand.
"Tonight we have vehicle sales figures in the U.S. So maybe
platinum will want to look out for that one. After yesterday's
decline, I think we could see abit more downside," said Koh of
Phillip Futures.
"Nearby support will probably come in around the $1,350
regions then the $1,300 regions. Upside resistance will be
aruond $1,488," he said.
Automakers may post a 10th consecutive month of U.S. sales
declines as incentives on slow-selling trucks and SUVs and
General Motors Corp's <GM.N> employee pricing promotion failed
to ignite demand from consumers in August.[]
The benchmark gold contract on the Tokyo Commodity
Exchange, August 2009 <JAUc6>, ended the morning session 24 yen
per gram higher at 2,837 yen. New York gold futures <GCZ8>
added $0.5 to $811.0 an ounce.
Spot palladium <XPD=> edged up to $286.50/294.50 an ounce
from $285.50/293.50 an ounce. Silver <XAG=> inched up to
$13.07/13.13 an ounce from $13.04/13.10 an ounce.
Precious metals prices at 0247 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 805.55 1.05 +0.13 -3.26
Spot Silver 13.06 0.03 +0.23 -11.58
Spot Platinum 1401.50 9.50 +0.68 -7.80
Spot Palladium 286.50 -0.50 -0.17 -22.15
TOCOM Gold 2837.00 24.00 +0.85 -7.29
15146
TOCOM Platinum 4890.00 113.00 +2.37 -8.41
8779
TOCOM Silver 460.30 2.40 +0.52 -14.92
607
TOCOM Palladium 1027.00 14.00 +1.38 -23.98
316
Euro/Dollar 1.4500
Dollar/Yen 108.82
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Additional reporting by Risa Maeda in Tokyo)
(Editing by Kim Coghill)
