(Recasts with prices, quotes, changes dateline, pvs TOKYO)
By Lewa Pardomuan
LONDON, May 15 (Reuters) - Gold steadied on Thursday as oil
prices bounced back towards $125 a barrel, encouraging some
speculators to put their money into the precious metal as a
hedge against inflation.
Platinum struggled to hold above $2,000 an ounce amid signs
electricity supply in main producer South Africa was returning
to normal after power cuts in January forced mines to shut down
operations, sparking supply fears and sending prices to record.
Spot gold <XAU=> was at $866.00/867.00 an ounce, steady from
$865.05/866.25 an ounce in late New York on Wednesday when it
touched a one-week low of $859.30 on a firmer U.S. dollar.
A combination of profit taking and a recovery in the dollar
against other currencies have put pressure on gold since it
spiked to a record high of $1,030.80 an ounce on March 17.
But record high oil prices were likely to offer support, and
dealers also expected jewellery makers to take advantage of
lower prices to stock up again.
"This is a perfect opportunity for them to be restocking
because the gold price could very easily get back above the $900
territory, and gold can do that in a very short space of time,"
said Nick Moore, metals analyst at ABN AMRO.
"I think the high gold price clearly had very significant
impact on jewellery off-take. I think the direction, looking
ahead, will be driven partly by what's happening with oil."
Oil <CLc1> rose towards $125 a barrel as the dollar
weakened, having fallen earlier in the session on rising U.S.
fuel inventories. []
The euro jumped to $1.5535 <EUR=>, moving away from a
two-month low of $1.5284 last week after a surge in German
economic growth suggested euro zone economies have held up well
in the face of a global slowdown.
"In our view, gold's range and movements are narrowing and
it would be a matter of time before we see a much clearer
direction in the near term," Philip Futures said in a note.
"Judging by this week's movements so far, the rebound off
the $890-$900 resistance could see gold retest the $845-$850
regions, and a break below that level would provide a much
clearer downward movement."
The most active June gold futures contract <GCM8> on the
COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange added $0.6 to
$866.6 an ounce.
Spot platinum <XPT=> hit a low of $1,988.50 an ounce before
bouncing to $2,015/2,025 an ounce, still down from 2,031/2,046
late in New York and was well below a lifetime high of $2,290 on
March 4.
"The power situation doesn't seem to be quite as bad as it
was earlier of the year. Eskom is indicating that there's more
power available than previously thought," said Moore.
State-owned power utility Eskom warned South Africans on
Wednesday to expect more power outages but said disruptions
would likely be minor. Mines are now operating at 90 to 95
percent of their normal electricity supply. []
Palladium <XPD=> fell to $426.50/434.50 an ounce from
$430.50/438.50 in late New York. Silver <XAG=> edged up to
$16.61/16.66 an ounce from $16.55/16.61.
(Editing by Chris Johnson)
