* Rising risk aversion after Goldman charges batters commods
* Oil slides towards $81/bbl, copper, aluminium slip
* Dollar benefits from news, further pressuring gold
(Updates prices, adds comment)
By Jan Harvey
LONDON, April 19 (Reuters) - Gold fell on Monday as news
that the U.S. authorities have charged Goldman Sachs with fraud
hurt commodities but lifted the dollar, though it recovered from
two-week lows as some investors sought the metal as a haven.
Goldman Sachs <GS.N> was charged on Friday with fraud by the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over its marketing of a
subprime mortgage product, sparking an immediate slide in assets
seen as higher risk, like equities and commodities.
Spot gold <XAU=> hit a low of $1,123.15 and was bid at
$1,134.40 an ounce at 1407 GMT, against $1,136.45 late in New
York on Friday.
Commodities tumbled across the board on Friday after the
news, and most extended those losses on Monday, with oil falling
more than 2 percent and copper sliding to three-week lows. []
[]
"After prices dropped in a knee-jerk reaction following the
(Goldman news), the chart picture for gold deteriorated
further," said Eugen Weinberg, an analyst at Commerzbank.
He said gold may be vulnerable to further losses. "The
dollar is stronger, (and) gold has been correlated with equities
and other commodities positively recently," he said.
U.S. gold futures for June delivery <GCM0> on the COMEX
division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell $1.50 to
$1,135.40 an ounce.
Nonetheless, gold has recovered from its earlier lows, as
some investors were attracted by the metal's appeal as a safe
store of value. "Gold is a safe haven," said Citigroup analyst
David Thurtell. "It did fall $20-30, but it has held up
relatively well."
Currency effects also weighed on gold, as the dollar <.DXY>
strengthened broadly. Rising risk aversion weighed on higher
yielding currencies like the euro, with lingering concerns over
Greece's debt levels also pressuring the single currency. []
"In the near term, we expect the developments surrounding
Goldman to overshadow all other issues that previously dominated
gold trading, including the pace and tempo of the economic
recovery and its impact on monetary policy (and) the possibility
of a CNY revaluation," said HSBC in a note.
FUTURES EYED
On the physical side of the gold market, holdings of the
world's largest bullion exchange-traded fund, New York's SPDR
Gold Trust <GLD>, held at record levels on Friday. []
However, a rapid rise in speculative net long positions in
New York gold futures is worrying some analysts.
"As we enter a new week, particularly following a negative
weekly close, the focus of investor positioning in the gold
market comes further under the spotlight," UBS analyst Edel
Tully said in a report on Monday.
"There is little doubt that such positioning is bordering on
crowded," she said. "So long as risk aversion remains in place,
the danger is that gold longs will run for the exit as fast as
they entered over the previous two weeks."
However, a price drop linked to a liquidation among
speculators may attract more physical investors back to the
market, she noted.
Other precious metals declined in line with gold, with
silver <XAG=> bid at $17.66 an ounce against $17.67.
Holdings of the largest silver ETF, the iShares Silver Trust
<SLV>, fell another 45.74 tonnes on Friday, bringing their total
decline this year to 580 tonnes, or 6 percent. []
Platinum <XPT=> was at $1,685.50 an ounce against $1,690,
while palladium <XPD=> was at $527 against $528.50.
(Editing by Amanda Cooper)
