* Gold down as much 1.5 percent, platinum down 5 pct
* Holdings on largest gold ETF hit record, investors buy
(Updates prices, adds quotes)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Gold slipped more than 1
percent on Wednesday as speculators booked profits after a
recent rally, but fears of a delay to a $700 billion U.S.
rescue plan kept the metal's safe-haven appeal intact.
Gold has bounced nearly 20 percent since tumbling to an
11-month low of $736 an ounce two weeks ago, signalling that
investors took advantage of lower prices and uncertainties in
the global economy to buy back the bullion.
Gold <XAU=> was trading at $883.00 an ounce, down $7.70 an
ounce, or 0.86 percent, from New York's notional close. It
rallied to a seven-week high of $908.80 an ounce on Tuesday
before losing much of the gains due to a rebounding dollar.
"It has risen too much, so there's a little bit of profit
taking," said Ronald Leung, director of Lee Cheong Gold Dealers
in Hong Kong.
Gold would have to clear the $920 resistance, a level last
seen in July, to sustain the uptrend. "There's not much
physical buying. At this level, people don't know what to do,"
he said, referring to volatile prices that kept jewellers at
bay.
Gold remains well below a record high of $1,030.80 struck
in March.
But dealers said record holdings in the world's largest
gold-backed exchange-traded funds, the SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>,
showed investors were moving back into bullion. Bullion
holdings of the SPDR Gold Trust stood at a record 724 tonnes
<XAUEXT-NYS-TT>.
Architects of the bailout plan urged U.S. lawmakers to act
swiftly or face dire economic consequences as global stock
markets fell for a second day on Tuesday on growing concerns
the rescue may be delayed. []
In other markets, the euro firmed to $1.4687 <EUR=>, while
oil <CLc1> edged up towards $107 a barrel, pausing from its 2.5
percent decline a day earlier, as forecast of a drop in U.S.
crude stocks more than offset doubts about the U.S.
government's financial rescue plan. []
"I guess the focus is still on the bailout plan, and if you
look at holdings at SPDR, it shows investors are buying gold
again," said a dealer in Singapore.
"Gold's probably pulling back on profit taking and recent
gains in the dollar. I would guess there will be nearby support
levels at $870 and $875," said the dealer, referring to a level
seen last week.
Platinum dropped as much as 5 percent on Wednesday to track
weaker gold, as speculatorsbooked profits after pushing up the
price to its highest in twoweeks the previous day.
Platinum <XPT=> was trading at $1,165.50 an ounce, down
$48.00 or 3.96 percent from New York's notional close on
Tuesday, when it hit an intraday high of $1,255.50 an ounce.
Platinum posted its biggest one-day percentage gain on
Monday in line with rises in gold, according to Reuters data
dating back to 1985. Platinum is mainly used in autocatalysts.
Gold futures for December delivery <GCZ8> on the COMEX
division of the New York Mercantile Exchange slipped $1.9 an
ounce to $889.3 an ounce.
Precious metals prices at 0432 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 883.00 -7.70 -0.86 6.04
Spot Silver 13.14 -0.07 -0.53 -11.04
Spot Platinum 1165.00 -48.00 -3.96 -23.36
Spot Palladium 244.50 -0.50 -0.20 -33.56
TOCOM Gold 2992.00 4.00 +0.13 -2.22
24300
TOCOM Platinum 3950.00 5.00 +0.13 -26.02
13330
TOCOM Silver 446.30 3.30 +0.74 -17.50
873
TOCOM Palladium 852.00 -10.00 -1.16 -36.94
377
Euro/Dollar 1.4672
Dollar/Yen 105.68
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Sambit Mohanty)
