Gold prices fell 1 per cent yesterday as Wall Street rallied, denting the precious metal's appeal as a safe haven from volatility in other markets amid a global recession. Gold for June delivery settled at $921.70 (U.S.) an ounce in New York, down $9.60.


CLOSING PRICES (SPOT)

Gold US$/troy ounce 919.35 -12.65

Silver US$/troy ounce 13.81 -0.19

Copper US$/lb 2.05 0.03

Lead US$/lb 0.67 0.00

Zinc US$/lb 0.68 0.01

Aluminum US$/lb 0.67 0.00

Nickel US$/lb 5.57 -0.05Price Chg

Oil West Texas US$/bbl 59.08 2.04

Nat Gas Henry Hub US$ mmbtu 4.02 -0.03

Nat.Gas AECO C C$/gigajoule 3.91 -0.09

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PRECIOUS METALS: Spot Gold Edges Higher On Dollar Weakness


LONDON -(Dow Jones)- Spot gold edged higher Tuesday on dollar weakness,
although the bounce risk appetite driving equity markets higher may weigh on
prices near-term, analysts said.

Spot platinum held steady as the market looked upon platinum-specialist
Johnson Matthey's outlook for 2009 as neutral to mildly positive.

At 0944 GMT, spot gold was trading at $919.90 per troy ounce, up 0.3% on the
day. Spot silver was 0.7% higher at $13.82/oz.

Spot platinum lost 50 cents to fall to $1,131.00/oz, and spot palladium rose
1.8% to $228.50/oz.

Asian and European bourses were on a strong footing Tuesday, bolstered by
surging Indian equities and the Dow's gains Monday.

Positive comments by the European Central Bank on a wider economic recovery
also boosted investor confidence, weakening the need for safe haven buying of
gold, said Mitsubishi Corp. (MSBHY) precious metals analyst Tom Kendall.

"There doesn't seem to be momentum behind gold. The momentum is really with
the equity markets and the more industrial metals," he said.

Gold may struggle to break above $927/oz in the near-term, and may instead
test support at $915/oz, Kendall said.

Platinum's steadiness likely reflected the market's reaction to Johnson
Matthey's forecast of a balanced market in 2009 in its report Monday.

The group predicted current prices would boost jewelry demand, offsetting the
slump in consumption among automakers.

UBS metals analyst John Reade said jewelry demand in China and Japan is
greatly outperforming the market's expectations. "With the Chinese (and
Japanese) buying so much more (net) platinum this year, the industrial slowdown
might not matter at all," Reade said in a report Tuesday.