* Gold tracks oil lower, off record high
* Gold to retrace to $1,412-technical
* Coming Up: Germany Industrial output Jan; 1100 GMT
(Updates prices, adds quotes)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, March 9 (Reuters) - Gold tracked oil lower on Wednesday and was
under pressure from firmer equities, but bargain hunting from jewellers as well
as worries that violence in Libya and the Middle East would spread could offer
support for the metal, which has dropped from a lifetime high.
Silver was steady below a 31-year high. Gains in ETF holdings indicated a
growing interest in the metal, with the gold/silver ratio hovering below 40:1 --
the lowest since February 1998. Holdings in iShares Silver Trust , rose to
10,913.32 tonnes by March 8, their strongest since early January.
Spot gold shed 74 cents to $1,427.45 an ounce by 0238 GMT, off a
record high of $1,444.40 an ounce struck on Monday, when investors poured money
into bullion as violence flared in Libya and after the downgrade of Greece's
credit rating reignited worries about euro zone sovereign debt.
"I feel it is consolidating, waiting for any lead out of Libya. We'll see
what happens on (Friday) prayer day around the Gulf, and then we'll see whether
or not there is need for concern. I think that's the focus we have to follow,"
said Jonathan Barratt, managing director of Commodity Broking Services in
Melbourne.
"If nothing happens on Friday, then I feel it will be a sigh of relief that
the contagion won't actually spread. As a result of that, if we don't see it
spread, then gold would come under pressure."
Spot gold is expected to retrace to $1,412 per ounce based on its
wave pattern and a Fibonacci retracement analysis, according to Wang Tao, who
is a Reuters market analyst for commodities and energy technicals.
Anti-government protests have flared in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and the Gulf,
sending oil prices to their highest in more than two years early in the week
before losing ground after OPEC was considering an output boost.
But top executives from some of the world's biggest energy companies,
including French major Total SA and U.S.-based Hess Corp, on Tuesday said global
oil supply is plentiful in spite of Libyan supply disruptions, and urged U.S.
policymakers not to tap strategic oil stockpiles.
But tensions in Libya remained. Tanks and warplanes intensified their
offensive against rebels on Tuesday, as the United States stressed that any
no-fly zone to hobble Muammar Gaddafi's forces had to have global backing.
U.S. gold futures for April added $1.3 an ounce to $1,428.5 an ounce.
They had struck record high at $1,445.70 on Monday.
In other markets, the Nikkei extended gains for a second day on Wednesday
after a pullback in oil prices, while he euro nursed heavy losses as worries
about European sovereign debt problems tightened their grip following the recent
credit rating downgrade for Greece.
The physical gold market saw light buying from jewellers but other consumers
waited for cheaper prices.
"Definitely they will come back to buy but not at these prices. I would say
there's still selling interest at the current level, but there's light demand
here and there," said a physical dealer in Singapore.
"There's much on silver after we heard about buying by China earlier this
week."
In main consumer India, domestic prices eased from its record high on
Tuesday, triggering a slight pick-up in physical demand as traders sought to
stock for wedding season. Jewellery is the most common gift during religious
events and weddings in India.
Precious metals prices 0238 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover
Spot Gold 1427.45 -0.74 -0.05 0.56
Spot Silver 36.14 0.14 +0.39 17.11
Spot Platinum 1805.00 2.26 +0.13 2.12
Spot Palladium 791.72 2.50 +0.32 -0.97
TOCOM Gold 3811.00 25.00 +0.66 2.20 36876
TOCOM Platinum 4878.00 23.00 +0.47 3.88 7075
TOCOM Silver 95.80 2.40 +2.57 18.27 1315
TOCOM Palladium 2119.00 54.00 +2.62 1.05 522
Euro/Dollar 1.3894
Dollar/Yen 82.82
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Reporting by Lewa Pardomuan; Editing by Ed Lane)
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