(Updates prices, adds quote)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, April 23 (Reuters) - Gold dipped on Wednesday to
track a retreating euro and may trade in a tight range this
week, with many investors staying on the sidelines as the metal
struggles to sustain recent gains.
Gold <XAU=> fell to $917.80/918.80 an ounce from
$920.65/922.05 an ounce late in New York on Tuesday, when it
hit an intraday high of $925.30 an ounce on a tumbling dollar
and record high crude oil.
"The fact that we haven't managed to sustain and break
above $950 suggests to me that there's potential I think now
for gold to weaken," said Darren Heathcote of Investec
Australia in Sydney.
"I just start to think that maybe investor sentiment is
starting to wane a little bit. In a very short term, I think
we're probably trapped in a range of around $907 to $926."
Gold hit a three-week high of $952.60 last week but
attempts to stay above the key resistance of $950 were met by
profit taking. Dealers noted demand from jewellers but it was
not strong enough to trigger another rally to around $1,000 an
ounce.
Gold struck a record of $1,030.80 on March 17.
"It's just trading in a narrow range of $910 to $940. Many
players wait on the sidelines. There's no direction," said
Louis Lok, a dealer at Bank of China in Hong Kong, adding that
gold would have to break the current range to test new highs.
Gold futures for June delivery <GCM8> on the COMEX division
of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell $4.6 an ounce to
$920.6 an ounce.
The euro eased to $1.5957 <EUR=> but held near an all-time
peak of $1.6020 hit on electronic trading platform EBS on
Tuesday.
Oil <CLc1> held around $117 on Wednesday, within sight of
an all-time peak of $119.90 hit the previous day, on a
weakening dollar, supply disruptions in Nigeria and fears that
a refinery strike in Scotland could hit production in the North
Sea.
A weak dollar lifts gold appeal as an alternative
investment, while record high oil boosts its allure as a hedge
against inflation.
"I think the physical guys are still waiting for lower
prices before they place huge orders," said a dealer in
Singapore.
"We'll see rangebound trade even though the dollar has
weakened to record lows against the euro."
Platinum bounced after falling below $2,000 on Tuesday, and
Tokyo futures also rebounded after dropping nearly 2 percent.
Spot platinum <XPT=> rose to $2,023.50/2,033.50 an ounce
from $2,017.50/2,027.50 late in New York.
The most active Tokyo platinum futures <0#JPL:> rose 76 yen
per gram to 6,554 yen.
Silver <XAG=> edged down to $17.62/17.68 an ounce from
$17.64/17.73 an ounce.
Spot palladium <XPD=> rose to $454/460 an ounce from
$451/457 an ounce.
Precious metals prices at 0736 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 919.10 1.80 +0.20 10.38
Spot Silver 17.62 0.01 +0.06 19.30
Spot Platinum 2023.50 6.50 +0.32 33.13
Spot Palladium 454.00 3.00 +0.67 23.37
TOCOM Gold 3067.00 -6.00 -0.20 0.23
37331
TOCOM Platinum 6553.00 75.00 +1.16 22.74
16668
TOCOM Silver 589.50 1.40 +0.24 8.96
625
TOCOM Palladium 1539.00 2.00 +0.13 13.92
895
Euro/Dollar 1.5968
Dollar/Yen 103.00
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Ben Tan)
