* Gold steadies after hitting lows, PGMs up
* For the technical on gold, click: []
* Coming Up: U.S. ISM manufacturing PMI, July; 1400 GMT
(Updates prices, adds quotes)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Gold regained strength on
Monday after jewellers resurfaced at lower levels, while strong
equities lifted platinum group metals despite a lack of buying
interest from automakers.
Asian stocks gained while the dollar hit a three-month low
against a basket of currencies due to concerns the U.S.
economy's recovery was losing momentum following the release of
poor economic growth data. []
Spot gold <XAU=> added $1.80 to $1,183.30 by 0322 GMT after
hitting a low of $1,179.20 an ounce. Despite the gain, bullion
was still around 6 percent below a lifetime high of $1,264.90
struck in June.
For a graphic of the 24-hour gold technical outlook,
click:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/WT/20100208090110.jpg
"We can say that physical buying at the lower end in the
Asian region absorbs selling from the ETF. There's more
interest over there at $1,170 or below," said Ronald Leung,
director of Lee Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong.
"Gold has recovered due to some kind of technical buying.
But I think the market is still thin. Both investors and
jewellery makers have buying at the lower end," he added.
U.S. gold futures for December delivery <GCZ0> rose $1.5 to
$1,185.4 an ounce after settling 1.1 percent higher. Gold had
risen after data showed U.S. economic growth slowed in the
second quarter, raising concerns about the recovery in the rest
of 2010. []
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR
Gold Trust <GLD.P>, said holdings were unchanged at 1,282.279
tonnes, having dropped more than 18 tonnes in late July. The
holdings hit a record at 1,320.436 tonnes on June 29.
[]
Platinum <XPT=> rose to its strongest since late June on
fund buying driven by gains in stock markets and industrial
metals such as LME copper <CMCU3>. Sister metal palladium
<XPD=> matched a five-week high hit on Friday.
Platinum and palladium are used by the auto industry in
catalytic converters to clean tailpipe emissions.
"We could see a little bit of demand from the industrial
side for palladium last week but things have slowed down
because the price is near $500. The industrial side is just
checking for prices," said a physical dealer in Tokyo.
"It's also the same thing for platinum. We even see some
selling from retail investors," he added.
Analysts see platinum prices rising as a gradual economic
recovery leads to increased demand for the autocatalyst metal,
but some of the euphoria that lifted forecasts earlier this
year has evaporated after a hefty correction in May, a Reuters
poll showed in late July. []
Oil rose towards 12-week highs above $79 on Monday, driven
by investor appetite for commodities and energy risk, with
macroeconomic indicators in top consumers the United States and
China showing slower but sustained growth. []
Precious metals prices at 0322 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 1183.30 1.80 +0.15 7.99
Spot Silver 18.12 0.16 +0.89 7.66
Spot Platinum 1583.25 16.70 +1.07 7.92
Spot Palladium 495.25 4.25 +0.87 22.13
TOCOM Gold 3304.00 45.00 +1.38 1.38
24238
TOCOM Platinum 4452.00 102.00 +2.34 1.62
11712
TOCOM Silver 51.40 1.80 +3.63 -0.58
289
TOCOM Palladium 1396.00 39.00 +2.87 19.83
220
Euro/Dollar 1.3079
Dollar/Yen 86.52
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
