* Gold holds as oil, Reuters/Jefferies CRB index tumble
* Silver, platinum, rhodium slip as stocks plunge
* U.S. equities fall sharply on recession fears
(Recasts, updates prices, market activity to close, adds
second byline, dateline, previously LONDON)
By Frank Tang and Jan Harvey
NEW YORK/LONDON, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Gold weathered a
widespread decline in commodities on Wednesday, ending slightly
lower in New York futures trade as plunging stock markets sent
some investors to gold as a safe haven.
A slide in U.S. and European equity markets fanned by
recession fears triggered buying in the bullion market,
offsetting some selling related to a decline in crude oil and
commodities, traders said.
Silver fell 5 percent, platinum nearly 5 percent and
rhodium more than 20 percent as fears about the global economic
outlook fanned expectations of sliding demand for precious
metals with an industrial use.
U.S. gold contract for December delivery <GCZ8> settled
down 50 cents at $839.00 an ounce on the COMEX division of the
New York Mercantile Exchange.
Spot gold <XAU=> was at $843.60/846.60 an ounce at 2:55
p.m. EDT (1855 GMT), up 1 percent from Tuesday's nominal close
of $835.25.
"The downside was pretty well supported and it looks like
some funds just jumped in and pushed the price $20 higher,"
Commerzbank senior trader Michael Kempinski said.
"The stock market looks like it is coming off again. We
thought the fear was over, but actually it is not," he added.
U.S. stocks dropped as much as 6 percent, and the Dow Jones
industrial average <> slipped more than 500 points as
investors worried that efforts to untangle credit markets would
not prevent recession, while the U.K. FTSE 100 index ended down
7.2 percent. []
Weakness in equities typically benefits gold, as investors
move funds to so-called 'safer' assets such as bullion.
But uncertainty about see-sawing equity markets have led to
choppy trading in gold.
Greg Orrell, portfolio manager of the $100 million
California-based OCM Gold Fund, said he still expected gold to
hit $1,000 an ounce by the end of this year on the back of
strong buying in the physical market amid unprecedented demand
for gold coins and bullion products.
"It seems like there is a big disconnect going on about
what is happening in the futures market and what's happening in
the physical market," Orrell said.
The safe-haven buying helped limit gold's losses as a 5
percent drop in crude oil sparked losses in the broad-based
Reuters/Jefferies CRB commodity index. []
Falling crude prices typically weigh on gold, often bought
as a hedge against oil-led inflation.
PLATINUM, RHODIUM SLIDE
Among other precious metals, spot silver <XAG=> tumbled 5
percent to a session low of $10.15 an ounce, before settling
back at $10.26/10.36, down 6.3 percent from Tuesday's nominal
close of $10.95.
The platinum group metals also fell, with platinum slipping
more than 3 percent and rhodium falling more than 10 percent,
as investors worried over the demand outlook.
Rhodium <RHOD-LON> shed $700 an ounce as investors sold the
precious metal on fears demand from carmakers would fall, and
to raise cash to cover losses on other markets. It was quoted
at $2,500 an ounce against $3,200 an ounce on Tuesday.
Auto manufacturers' association ACEA said European new
vehicle sales fell 8.2 percent in September. U.S. car sales
also have fallen, recent figures suggest. []
"Car sales are looking grim from everywhere, really, and
that is the major home for the majority of rhodium," said one
British-based trader.
Spot platinum <XPT=> fell to $957.00/977.00 an ounce
against $1,017.50 late in New York on Tuesday.
The world's largest producer of the white metal, Anglo
Platinum <AMSJ.J> told Reuters it does not plan to trim metal
output despite low prices, which it expects to rebound as
fundamentals return to the fore. []
Spot palladium <XPD=> was quoted at $190.00/198.00 an ounce
against $195.
(Editing by David Gregorio)
