* Gold up more than 1 pct but tone cautious
* Platinum rises 4 pct on bargain hunting
(Updates prices)
SINGAPORE, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Gold gained more than 1
percent on Friday after falling to its weakest since October
2007, but investors refrained from taking large positions, with
their confidence already shaken by turmoil in financial
markets.
Gold has lost as much as 28 percent in value since its
March record high of $1,030.80, when worries about rising
inflation and a struggling U.S. dollar ignited buying from
investors.
"From a technical perspective, the movement below the $750
regions is quite important and I am still a bit negative on
it," said Adrian Koh, analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore,
adding that gold was still under pressure from recent strength
in the dollar.
The yellow metal <XAU=> rose to $750.15/751.15 an ounce
from $739.60/741.20 an ounce late in New York on bargain
hunting and steadier oil. It struck an 11-month low of $736.00
on Thursday after the dollar hit another 1-year high against
the euro.
Oil <CLc1> firmed on Friday on concerns that Hurricane Ike
would disrupt U.S. oilrefining and production and as the dollar
weakened against theeuro. []
Platinum jumped 4 percent on bargain hunting but poor car
sales and the slowing U.S. economy weighed on sentiment.
Reports that troubled U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers
<LEH.N> was negotiating with potential buyers may also
encourage investors to ditch commodities, including precious
metals.
"Problems with Lehman Brothers gave the market a big shock.
Many investors have lost interest to buy platinum. They are
rushing to sell," said Yukuji Sonoda, precious metals analyst
at Daiichi Commodities in Tokyo.
Jewellery makers in China and Japan were selling back their
stocks because of poor demand, while automakers sheered away
from large positions because of the volatile platinum market,
he said.
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc was forced into talks about a
possible sale after its shares plunged more than 40 percent on
Thursday, raising questions about its survival. []
Spot platinum <XPT=> hit an intraday high of $1,175 an
ounce, up from $1,126.50/1,146.50 late in New York on bargain
hunting, but there were no signs of demand from jewellers,
automakers or investors.
Platinum fell to $1,126 an ounce on Thursday, its weakest
since January 2007, due to worries about falling demand for
autocatalysts.
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. It struck a record high
of $2,290 an ounce in March.
The benchmark gold contract on the Tokyo Commodity
Exchange, August 2009 <JAUc6>, ended the morning session up 27
yen per gram at 2,595 yen on bargain hunting.
Gold futures for December delivery <GCZ8> on the COMEX
division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose $9.8 an ounce
to $755.3 an ounce.
Precious metals prices at 0216 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 750.05 3.25 +0.44 -9.93
Spot Silver 10.67 0.12 +1.14 -27.76
Spot Platinum 1166.50 28.50 +2.50 -23.26
Spot Palladium 233.00 6.00 +2.64 -36.68
TOCOM Gold 2595.00 27.00 +1.05 -15.20
23871
TOCOM Platinum 4004.00 109.00 +2.80 -25.00
10761
TOCOM Silver 372.40 1.30 +0.35 -31.16
665
TOCOM Palladium 837.00 60.00 +7.72 -38.05
612
Euro/Dollar 1.3999
Dollar/Yen 107.18
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)
