Gold lower in New York

Gold ended lower in quiet trade on Monday as a dollar rise against the euro prompted profit taking, but the metal could build on its recent base at $820 an ounce, analysts said. Bullion could find support at above $800 an ounce, with the help of buying from jewellers ahead of the festive seasons especially in main consumer, India.
Dealers also reported tight supply for gold bars in Singapore and Hong Kong. Gold ended at $820.20/821.40 by New York's last quote at 2:15 pm, up from $827.00/828.60 an ounce late on Friday, but was off nine-month lows of around $773 hit in mid-August. Earlier on Monday, the metal dipped to $816.45, down more than 1 percent. Bullion weakened as the dollar strengthened against the euro after data showed that US existing home sales rose in July.
"I think gold is finding its base here. It's mostly technical support holding prices above $820. Any dips below $820 are seen as a buying opportunity," said Carlos Sanchez, precious metals analyst at the CPM Group in New York. Sanchez also said that sharply lower US stocks kept gold from falling further as investors turned to bullion because of its safe-haven appeal.
US stocks were 2 percent lower in late trade, dragged by worries about the health of financials. In addition, supply fears eased after the US Mint said it must allocate the American Eagle bullion coins among dealers to cope with overwhelming demand as it resumed taking orders for the popular coins.
US gold futures are also showing a pullback in net long positions held by speculators as bullion weakened from its recent highs. The US Commodity and Futures Trading Commission said that non-commercial net longs in gold dropped by 14 percent last week. US gold contract for December delivery settled down $7.80 at $825.70 an ounce on COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
JEWELRY DEMAND PICKS UP Demand for gold in India normally picks up ahead of Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights in October, as people buy gold for auspicious reasons. Also, many Hindu marriages are likely to be held between September and November, said dealers. "I guess the $800 psychological-level support will come into play again.
I believe physical demand for gold is likely to remain good and perhaps the shortage may support the market a bit," said Adrian Koh, analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore. "If we start moving below $810, we will probably move to $800 very soon and perhaps gold could retest to the $770s again," he said. Spot platinum ended lower at $1,423.00/1,443.00 an ounce, down from $1,425.50/1,445.50 an ounce late in New York on Friday but was off an 11-month low around $1,296 hit last week.
"Near-term support for platinum should come in around the $1,350-level, and if we do move below those levels, we could see another bout of selling towards $1,250 to $1,300," said Koh of Phillip Futures.
In industry news, South Africa's Northam Platinum posted a 12 percent rise in earnings for the year ending in June, on high metal prices, despite weaker output. The miner forecast a rise in output and prices for the current financial year. Spot palladium finished slightly lower at $284.00/292.00 from late New York levels at $285.50/293.50 an ounce. Silver closed lower at $13.36/13.42 an ounce from $13.33/13.41 an ounce late in the US market on Friday.