* Gold falls on profit-taking; inflation appeal decreases
* U.S. consumer confidence down, inflation drops yr-on-yr
* US "Clunkers for Cash" program seen neutral for platinum
(Recasts, updates prices, market activity to close; adds
second byline, dateline, previously LONDON)
By Frank Tang and Martina Fuchs
NEW YORK/LONDON, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Gold futures fell below
$950 an ounce and ended lower on Friday, as oil tumbled and the
dollar rose amid lackluster U.S. consumer confidence data,
dampening gold's appeal as a hedge against inflation.
Investors took profits ahead of the weekend after
commodities and equities markets surged on encouraging economic
data earlier this week.
But data turned sour on Friday when consumer confidence for
August fell more than expected, according to the preliminary
reading of the Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of
Consumers. []
"Certainly, the expectations of inflation are very muted at
this point. It may take a lot longer than gold bulls think
before inflation really takes off," said Tom Hartmann, metals
broker at California-based Altavest.
"We certainly could get a correction in gold that is going
to be steeper than some people think," he said.
U.S. December gold futures <GCZ9> settled down $7.80 at
$948.70 an ounce on the COMEX division of the New York
Mercantile Exchange.
Spot gold <XAU=> was at $945.25 at 2:19 p.m. EDT (1819
GMT), compared with $953.50 late in New York on Thursday.
Standard Bank analyst Walter de Wet said the data showed
little inflationary pressure.
"The longer-term expectations are still in the market that
inflation could rise, but clearly not in the next couple of
months," he said.
A separate report showed U.S. consumer prices were flat in
July and dropped over the past 12 months at the fastest rate
since 1950. That may suggest deflation, not inflation, is more
likely despite signs the recession is loosening its grip.
Earlier this year, deflation worries had weighed heavily on
bullion investors, sending the price of gold falling toward
$850 an ounce in April.
Wall Street stocks tumbled more than 1 percent, and oil
prices dropped more than $3 to below $68 a barrel. The dollar
rose as risk-averse investors sought a safe haven.
"CLUNKERS" SEEN NEUTRAL FOR PLATINUM
Among other precious metals, silver <XAG=> slipped to
$14.65 an ounce against $15.00. Earlier, silver hit a two-month
high of $15.16 due to the initial rise in gold and a copper
rally in Asian trade.
A fall in the gold-silver price ratio to 63 from 72 a month
ago suggests silver is now good value compared to gold.
Among other precious metals, platinum <XPT=> slid to $1,257
an ounce from $1,265, while palladium <XPD=> dipped to $273
from its previous finish of $274.
The director of A-1 Specialized Services, the world's
biggest autocatalyst recycler, said that U.S. stimulus schemes
may prove neutral for the platinum and palladium market balance
as recyclers salvage more metal per unit from scrapped cars
than is used in newer models. []
Close Change Pct 2008 YTD
Chg Close Pct Chg
US gold <GCZ9> 948.70 -7.80 -0.8 884.30 7.3
US silver <SIU9> 14.722 -0.265 -1.8 11.295 30.3
US platinum <PLV9> 1261.70 -11.00 -0.9 941.50 34.0
US palladium <PAU9> 277.25 -0.90 -0.3 188.70 46.9
Prices at 2:20 p.m. EDT (1820 GMT)
Gold <XAU=> 956.10 -8.55 -0.9 878.200 8.9
Silver <XAG=> 14.23 0.34 2.4 11.30 25.9
Platinum <XPT=> 1234.00 26.50 2.2 924.50 33.5
Palladium <XPD=> 270.50 9.00 3.4 184.50 46.6
Gold Fix <XAUFIX=> 959.75 20.75 2.2 836.50 14.7
Silver Fix <XAGFIX=> 14.290 0.660 4.8 14.760 -3.2
Platinum Fix <XPTFIX=> 1215.00 0.00 0.0 1529.00 -20.5
Palladium Fix <XPDFIX=> 268.00 0.00 0.0 365.00 -26.6
(Reporting by Frank Tang; Editing by David Gregorio)
