* Gold bounces higher after touching another 11-month low
* Platinum strikes lowest level since January 2007
(Recasts, adds quotes)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Gold regained strength on
Thursday as more physical buyers resurfaced after prices struck
another 11-month low, but the U.S. dollar's strength against
the euro threatened to cap gains.
Investors who propelled gold to a lifetime high of
$1,030.80 in March on inflation fears and a struggling dollar
are ditching their bullion holdings as the U.S. currency stages
a dramatic rebound. Other precious metals have slumped to
multi-month lows.
Gold <XAU=> rose about half a percent to $755.70/756.70 an
ounce by 0225 GMT, rebounding from an intraday low of $748.60
an ounce. It fell to $752.55/754.15 in New York on Wednesday,
down 6 percent in two days, the sharpest two-day loss since
March.
"Investor interest has diminished because of the movement
of the U.S. dollar and the oil price," said David Moore,
analyst at Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney.
"There's some evidence of increasing fabrication demand for
gold at this level, so that might be supportive. But at the
moment, of course the shift in investment flow is overwhelming
that influence," he said.
The euro tumbled to its lowest level in a year against the
dollar on Thursday as the market focus returned to a souring
economic outlook outside the United States, although the yen
strengthened modestly in early trading. []
A stronger dollar reduce gold's appeal as an alternative
investment. The bullion holdings of SPDR Gold Trust <GLD.P>,
the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, dropped
to their lowestlevel in three months around 614 tonnes
<XAUEXT-NYS-TT>.
Oil <CLc1> climbed more than $1 to near $104 a barrel on
Thursday, having fallen the previous day as a jump in the U.S.
dollar offset a surprise OPEC output cut. []
"I think the market is a bit panicky at the moment because
it has broken all the major supports. People are very cautious
about oil prices, the U.S. dollar and everything," said Ellison
Chu, manager of precious metals at Standard Bank Asia in Hong
Kong.
"I can't say whether it is supportive, but we see a lot
physical-related buying," he said.
Physical dealers reported a shortage in gold bars in
Singapore and Hong Kong as jewellers stepped up purchases ahead
of religious festivals in India, the Middle East and Southeast
Asia.
Many weddings take place during the festive season in India
which peaks in October with Diwali, the Hindu festival of
lights. Gold jewellery forms an important part of dowry as
parents prefer to give gold to their daughters for financial
security.
The benchmark gold contract on the Tokyo Commodity
Exchange, August 2009 <JAUc6>, ended the morning session 57 yen
per gram lower at 2,633 yen.
Spot platinum <XPT=> fell to $1,162.50/1,182.50 an ounce
from $1,176.00/1,196.00 late in New York. It hit an intraday
low of $1,150.50 an ounce, its weakest since January 2007 and
nearly half the record high it touched in March.
Platinum, mainly used in autocatalysts, has been hit by
heavy selling due to a slowing U.S. economy and poor car sales
in the United States, Japan and China.
Precious metals prices at 0207 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 756.75 4.75 +0.63 -9.12
Spot Silver 10.74 0.11 +1.03 -27.29
Spot Platinum 1162.50 -7.50 -0.64 -23.52
Spot Palladium 220.50 -4.50 -2.00 -40.08
TOCOM Gold 2633.00 -57.00 -2.12 -13.95
31176
TOCOM Platinum 4004.00 -140.00 -3.38 -25.00
12129
TOCOM Silver 374.50 -17.60 -4.49 -30.78
647
TOCOM Palladium 787.00 -3.00 -0.38 -41.75
981
Euro/Dollar 1.3984
Dollar/Yen 107.50
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Jonathan Leff)
