* Gold slumps around $800 as gains blocked by weaker oil
* Physical buying helps cushion falls
(Updates prices, adds comments)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Gold barely held above $800 an
ounce on Wednesday after early rounds of short-covering ran out
of steam with the dollar's strength and a plunge in oil weighing
on prices, but it gained support from physical buying.
Platinum edged up after tumbling to its lowest level in nearly
two weeks but poor car sales hurt sentiment and dealers
awaited Wednesday's release of U.S. auto sales for August for
clues to demand. Palladium and silver also rebounded from lows.
Gold <XAU=> was trading at $799.90/800.90 an ounce as of 0627
GMT, down 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 sentiment is still on the
downside," said Adrian Koh, an 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 below $109, deepening this week's sharp
drop as traders looked past Hurricane Gustav. []
The dollar index <.DXY>, which tracks its performance against
six major currencies, was up 0.6 percent at 78.484 and touched an
11-month high of 78.546.
"Yesterday's plunge in oil shocked the commodities market in
general. Sentiment for gold turned bearish, with more falls
expected in the near term," said Tatsuo Kageyama, an analyst at
Kanetsu Asset Management in Tokyo.
"The trend for platinum looks even weaker with the market
turning increasingly concerned about falls in car sales,"
Kageyama said.
Spot platinum <XPT=> edged up to $1,395/1,415 an ounce
from $1,392.00/1,412.00 late in New York. It fell to $1,363.50 on
Tuesday, its weakest since Aug. 21.
"The platinum market is showing resilience, with
bargain-hunting buying emerging at around $1,400, said Yuki
Sonoda, an adviser to the 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 a feeling of stability," he said.
Worries about falling demand for autocatalysts, 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
region then the $1,300 region. 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,
for August 2009 <JAUc6>, was trading 10 yen per gram higher at
2,823 yen. New York gold futures <GCZ8> fell $6.0 to $799.0 an
ounce.
Spot palladium <XPD=> edged up to $288/296 an ounce
from $285.50/293.50. Silver <XAG=> dropped to $12.94/13.00 an
ounce from $13.04/13.10.
Precious metals prices at 0644 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover
Spot Gold 802.10 -2.40 -0.30 -3.67
Spot Silver 12.97 -0.06 -0.46 -12.19
Spot Platinum 1398.00 6.00 +0.43 -8.03
Spot Palladium 291.00 4.00 +1.39 -20.92
TOCOM Gold 2822.00 9.00 +0.32 -7.78 42051
TOCOM Platinum 4862.00 85.00 +1.78 -8.93 15039
TOCOM Silver 458.30 0.40 +0.09 -15.29 1086
TOCOM Palladium 1032.00 19.00 +1.88 -23.61 712
Euro/Dollar 1.4461
Dollar/Yen 108.75
(Additional reporting by Chikafumi Hodo)
