* Gold up more than 1 pct but tone cautious
* Platinum rises 4 pct on bargain hunting
(Updates prices, adds quotes)
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.
Platinum jumped more than 4 percent on bargain hunting but
poor car sales weighed on sentiment. Reports that U.S.
investment bank Lehman Brothers <LEH.N> was in talk about a
possible sale may also encourage investors to ditch
commodities, including precious metals.
Gold <XAU=> rose to $750.90/751.70 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.
"News on Lehman seems pretty substantial at the moment and
the markets are reacting rather edgy. But I think the real
driver now is the dollar. It seems very strong," said Adriah
Koh, an analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore.
"From a technical perspective, the movement below the $750
regions is quite important and I am still a bit negative on
it," said Koh, adding that gold was still under pressure from
recent strength in the dollar.
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.
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. []
Oil <CLc1> rebounded to above $101 a barrel on Friday,
keeping a a watchful eye on the path of Hurricane Ike that
could disrupt refineries and production in the United States
for weeks. []. The euro dropped 0.2 percent to $1.3984
<EUR=>.
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.
"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.
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.
"We cannot really see the market starting on a recovery
based on today's buying. It still looks like platinum could
decline some more. And we are still trading within the ranges
of the previous day," said Koh of Phillip Futures.
"On the downside, I think $1,100 will be a nearby support
and I will place yesterday's high at $1,185 as a resistance
point for platinum to perhaps move higher if these regions are
breached."
Platinum last hit around $1,100 in January 2007.
Precious metals prices at 0319 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 750.45 3.65 +0.49 -9.88
Spot Silver 10.68 0.13 +1.23 -27.69
Spot Platinum 1164.00 26.00 +2.28 -23.42
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 1.4003
Dollar/Yen 107.11
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 Ben Tan)
