* Gold edges up in choppy trade, off 1-month low
* Nikkei up over 2 percent, oil rises more than $3
* U.S. dollar slips against euro
(Updates prices)
SINGAPORE, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Gold edged up on Friday,
recovering from a 6-percent drop in New York, after oil rose
more than $3 and a rebound in equities eased worries of a
global recession, at least for now.
A falling dollar against the euro also restored gold's
safe-haven appeal after a recent sell-off in equities drove
speculators to sell bullion to cover losses. Firmer gold
plucked other precious metals from their lows.
Gold <XAU=> was trading at $806.60 an ounce, up $1.50 from
New York's notional close on Thursday, when it dropped to its
weakest level in a month at $783.80 as funds dumped commodities
amid uncertainties in the financial markets.
Bargain hunting by private investors in Japan and buybacks
by producers lifted gold prices, but jewellers were on the
sidelines and the charts also indicated bullion could still hit
the lows again, said Yukuji Sonoda, an analyst at Daiichi
Commodities.
"In Japan, jewellery demand is tremendously poor. So many
scraps have been returned to fabricators. We reached $750 last
month, so it may be possible for us to touch that level again,"
he said.
Gold's volatility has scared off jewellers and some
investors. It rallied to a two-month high of $931 last Friday
on a weak dollar before tumbling all the way to $823.50 on the
same day as investors sought cash to cover margin calls.
Gold was well below a record of $1,030.80 hit in March.
In other markets, Japan's Nikkei average <> pared
gains to 1.5 percent after an early rebound on Friday, which
helped oil rise more than $3 after hitting a 15-month low.
[]
The dollar slipped against the euro and a basket of
currencies as safety demand from investors and global companies
for the world's most liquid currency waned after a late surge
in Wall Street shares. []
"I am bullish on gold because, in the end, as the global
economic recession deepens, governments will find the only way
out of this mess is to print more money," said Jeffrey Nichols,
managing director of American Precious Metals Advisors.
"In other words, to inflate. But a deeper downturn means
that policy makers will need even more aggressive monetary
easing and fiscal spending to breathe life back into the sick
economy -- and governments will be even deeper in the hole."
Government steps to shore up the banking system and
unfreeze credit markets showed some signs of progress on
Thursday, but grim news from major economies reinforced fears
of recession and hammered global markets. []
Platinum <XPT=> was trading at $900.50 ounce, up $16.00 an
ounce from New York's notional close on a technical rebound. It
had plummeted to $831.50, it weakest since December 2004, on
fears of a global recession.
New York gold futures <GCZ8> rose $5.7 ounce to $810.2.
Precious metals prices at 0233 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 806.00 1.50 +0.19 -3.21
Spot Silver 9.68 0.05 +0.52 -34.46
Spot Platinum 900.50 16.00 +1.81 -40.76
Spot Palladium 172.50 1.50 +0.88 -53.13
TOCOM Gold 2633.00 -57.00 -2.12 -13.95
23195
TOCOM Platinum 2961.00 11.00 +0.37 -44.54
7388
TOCOM Silver 312.90 -3.60 -1.14 -42.16
454
TOCOM Palladium 597.00 -18.00 -2.93 -55.81
246
Euro/Dollar 1.3447
Dollar/Yen 101.64
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Reporting by Lewa Pardomuan; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
