* Gold down 1 pct on firmer dollar, profit taking
* Nikkei slips 1.3 pct on worries about global economy
* Oil rebounds after falling almost 7 pct
(Updates prices, adds quotes)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Gold fell 1 percent on
Wednesday after the U.S. dollar bounced against the euro and
prompted selling from investors, whose appetite for safe-haven
assets was somewhat restored after bullion regained $800 an
ounce.
Gold rallied to a six-week high around $830 on Tuesday
after the Federal Reserve announced a new programme to support
consumer debt securities, but profit taking erased some of the
gains. "Year-end is coming, so the jewellery and industrial
sectors try to reduce inventories. They don't want to buy for
the time being. They still want to keep more cash," said Dick
Poon, manager of precious metals at Heraeus Ltd in Hong Kong.
Gold <XAU=> was trading at $813.55 an ounce, down $6.30 an
ounce from New York's notional close. The price has rebounded
more than 19 percent since hitting a 13-month low of $680.80 in
October but it is still below a record of $1,030.80 hit in
March.
"People are slightly positive but not rushing to buy," said
Adrian Koh, analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore.
"The large and quick spike over the past couple of days has
pushed gold prices up by almost $100 in a short period of
time," he said.
The dollar gained against the euro as scepticism lingered
over whether the latest U.S. measures to boost consumer lending
would ease concerns about the financial crisis. []
Weaker equities also prompted some investors to cash in
gold to cover losses. Japan's Nikkei average <> slipped
1.3 percent on fears of a worsening economic outlook.
But some analysts said gold could find support around the
current levels on demand from investors. The U.S. Mint said all
2008-dated bullion coins, with the exception of the American
Eagle gold one-ounce and silver one-ounce bullion coins, have
been depleted due to high demand. []
Holdings at the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded
fund, the SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, were steady at 755.06 tonnes
this week, within sight of a record of 770.64 tonnes in early
October. []
"My impression is that the gold price will gradually get
better, mainly because of the actual buying on the ETF," said
Yukuji Sonoda, precious metals analyst at Daiichi Commodities
in Tokyo.
But gold could also find stiff resistance at higher levels,
with movements in oil prices likely to offer direction. "At
this moment, oil is the most important factor for gold," he
said.
Oil <CLc1> edged above $51 a barrel on Wednesday, after
falling nearly 7 percent in the previous session on worries of
falling demand after a government report showed the U.S.
economy shrank more than estimated during the third
quarter.[]
Fears about rising inflation helped push gold to a record
high in March.
Platinum <XPT=> traded at $864.50 an ounce, up $4.50 from
New York's notional close.
New York gold futures <GCZ8> fell $4.8 an ounce to
$813.70.
Precious metals prices at 0636 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 813.55 -6.30 -0.77 -2.30
Spot Silver 10.24 -0.05 -0.49 -30.67
Spot Platinum 864.50 4.50 +0.52 -43.13
Spot Palladium 195.00 0.50 +0.26 -47.01
TOCOM Gold 2472.00 5.00 +0.20 -19.22
44195
TOCOM Platinum 2670.00 27.00 +1.02 -49.99
11147
TOCOM Silver 313.50 -8.80 -2.73 -42.05
466
TOCOM Palladium 610.00 -3.00 -0.49 -54.85
188
Euro/Dollar 1.2986
Dollar/Yen 95.02
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Michael Urquhart)
