(Updates prices)
By Miho Yoshikawa
TOKYO, April 17 (Reuters) - Gold rose on Thursday, adding to
gains made the previous day when record-high oil prices and the
dollar's tumble to all-time lows against the euro helped to lift
the metal's price by more than 2 percent.
Platinum also rose, extending the previous day's gains.
Spot gold <XAU=> was at $949.70/950.50 per ounce at 0859 GMT,
adding gains to late New York levels of $943.90/944.70.
Shuji Sugata, a manager at Mitsubishi Corp Futures and
Securities in Tokyo, said gold still had legs to climb.
"Gold is strong but it's still underperforming relative to
the strength in crude oil prices." he said.
Platinum <XPT=> jumped to $2,053/2,063 an ounce from late New
York levels of $2,015/2,025.
U.S. crude oil futures <CLc1> were around $115.00 a barrel,
in sight of the record high of $115.45 hit earlier, boosted by a
weak dollar and a sharp decline in U.S. gasoline inventories.
Gold often gets a boost from high oil prices as some
investors look to the metal as an inflation hedge.
Investors in the precious metal, which hit an all-time high
of $1,030.80 on March 17, were also keeping an eye on the dollar,
which held near record lows against the euro.
Gold is often viewed as an alternative to holding the dollar,
and thus the value of gold usually rises when the U.S. currency
falls.
"The market may be cautious about buying gold and other
precious metals strongly ahead of more earning results by U.S.
investment banks this week," said Sugata at Mitsubishi.
The dollar held near an all-time low against the euro on
Thursday, after a sharp fall in housing starts reinforced
expectations U.S. interest rates will be cut again, while record
high inflation backed views euro zone rates will stand pat.
The euro was at $1.5960, within striking distance of the
record high $1.5980 hit on electronic trading platform EBS.
The Nikkei share average <> rose 1.9 percent on Thursday
as it tracked an overnight rise in U.S. shares after Intel Corp
<INTC.O> and IBM <IBM.N> reported healthy earnings that eased
worries about corporate profitability amid a weak economy.
JPMorgan Chase & Co <JPM.N> said its quarterly profit fell 50
percent, but the third-largest U.S. bank had less exposure,
relative to its size, to the risky mortgages and complex
securities that have caused major global credit losses.
Investors have been worried that a weak economy would sap
corporate profits.
COMEX gold futures rose in Asia after settling up 1.8 percent
in New York. The active U.S. contract for June delivery <GCM8> on
the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange was up
$4.8 an ounce at $953.1.
The benchmark February gold contract <0#JAU:> on the Tokyo
Commodity Exchange closed the day up 67 yen a gram, or 2.2
percent, at 3,131 yen, after moving between 3,109 and 3,131 yen.
The key TOCOM platinum contract for February delivery
<0#JPL:> rose by its daily 300-yen limit to 6,610 yen minutes
before the close. It inched down to finish the day at 6,604 yen.
Platinum <XPT=> jumped to $2,053/2,063 an ounce from late New
York levels of $2,015/2,025.
Palladium <XPD=> was up at $460/468, versus $455/460.
Silver <XAG=> also climbed to $18.52/18.57 an ounce from
$18.31/18.36 late in New York.
Precious metals prices at 0910 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover
Spot Gold 950.00 5.30 +0.56 14.09
Spot Silver 18.56 0.27 +1.48 25.66
Spot Platinum 2060.00 45.00 +2.23 35.53
Spot Palladium 462.00 7.00 +1.54 25.54
TOCOM Gold 3131.00 67.00 +2.19 2.32 60591
TOCOM Platinum 6604.00 294.00 +4.66 23.69 32068
TOCOM Silver 613.90 22.70 +3.84 13.48 1084
TOCOM Palladium 1542.00 32.00 +2.12 14.14 2435
Euro/Dollar 1.5949
Dollar/Yen 101.90
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Additional reporting by Chikafumi Hodo)
