(Updates prices, adds closing in Tokyo)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, March 26 (Reuters) - Gold extended gains on
Wednesday after a falling U.S. dollar encouraged funds and
investors to shift money back into the precious metal following
last week's heavy sell-down.
Gold <XAU=> rose to $936.70/937.60 an ounce from
$934.60/935.40 an ounce late in New York on Tuesday, also
driven by purchases from Japanese speculators.
"The Japanese are pushing up the price. We heard there's
some physical buying at lows, especially from the jewellery
sector," said Ronald Leung, director of Lee Cheong Gold Dealers
in Hong Kong.
Gold hit a record of $1,030.80 on March 17 before a broad
sell-off in commodities dragged down prices to a one-month low
around $904, briefly hurting investors' confidence in the metal
used as an alternative investment and a hedge against
inflation.
"I think $950 will be capped for the time being. Sentiment
seems to be a little bit bullish. They think it still has a
chance to see $1,000 again this year," said Leung, who pegged
support at $910 an ounce.
Platinum shed early gains but was still supported by supply
fears after a power crisis disrupted mining in main producer
South Africa. Palladium and silver also firmed but remained
below their recent highs.
The euro dipped to $1.5630 <EUR=> after rising more than 1
percent on Tuesday, when reports showed U.S. consumer'
confidence plunged to a five-year low on worries about rising
inflation and fewer jobs, with a record drop in house prices in
January compounding their woes. []
Gold futures for April delivery <GCJ8> on the COMEX
division of the New York Mercantile Exchange added $2.4 an
ounce to $937.4 an ounce but were off last week's record of
$1,033.90.
"There's some light buying from Indonesia and Vietnam.
It's not great but they are buying," said a dealer in
Singapore, referring to purchases form jewellery makers and
investors.
"I guess sentiment for gold is improving because the dollar
is weakening again," he said.
Spot platinum <XPT=> fell to $1,955/1,965 an ounce from
$1,960/1,970 an ounce -- well below a record of $2,290 an ounce
hit on March 4.
South African power utility Eskom's ability to raise
capital could be undermined if it is not allowed to raise
tariffs, Public Enterprises Minister Alec Erwin said on
Tuesday. []
Eskom has struggled to cope with rising demand due to years
of underspending on generating capacity. The energy grid came
close to collapse in January, forcing gold and platinum mines
to shut down for five days and driving platinum prices to
record peaks.
The most active Tokyo platinum futures <0#JPL:> ended 196
yen per gram higher at 6,172 yen after hitting a high of 6,199
yen to track early gains in the cash market.
Silver <XAG=> rose to $17.82/17.87 an ounce from
$17.78/17.83 an ounce. Spot palladium <XPD=> rose to $445/455
an ounce from $442/447 an ounce.
Precious metals prices at 0031 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 936.80 -1.50 -0.16 12.50
Spot Silver 17.78 -0.14 -0.78 20.38
Spot Platinum 1960.00 0.00 +0.00 28.95
Spot Palladium 445.00 3.00 +0.68 20.92
TOCOM Gold 3038.00 -9.00 -0.30 -0.72
60855
TOCOM Platinum 6172.00 196.00 +3.28 15.60
24090
TOCOM Silver 579.00 4.50 +0.78 7.02
1424
TOCOM Palladium 1480.00 5.00 +0.34 9.55
7072
Euro/Dollar 1.5600
Dollar/Yen 99.95
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Ben Tan)
