PRECIOUS METALS: NY Gold, Silver Rise Slightly On Currencies

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Gold and silver futures rose slightly Monday as the U.S. dollar dipped a smidge and the euro firmed modestly, analysts said.

February gold rose $5.60 to $794.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. As pit trade was closing, the February contract at the Chicago Board of Trade was up $5.80 to $795.30.

Gold rose along with the euro, said Jim Steel, senior vice president and metals analyst with HSBC.

"I think it is simply a modest recovery from the selling last week," he said.

The slipping dollar supported gold, which remained within key support and resistance, said Patrick Fearon, analyst with A.G. Edwards.

"I'm really watching the area around $782 or so (as support)," said Fearon. "If we break below that level, I think that's a decidedly bearish sign for the bulls."

Resistance lies up around $821, he added.

"The dollar is not doing much," said Leonard Kaplan, president of Prospector Asset Management. "But the euro is a little up, so gold is a little bit up."

As gold was closing, the dollar index was down more than 0.2% while the euro was up to $1.4662.

Meanwhile, Comex March silver rose 4.5 cents to $14.21 an ounce as the euro was slightly higher, said HSBC's Steel.

Silver also got a boost from Friday news that Mexican mining production fell 2.6% in September from the year-ago month, due to lower output of metals including silver, he said.

January platinum, the biggest winner among U.S. precious metals, rose $17.30, or nearly 1.2% to $1,461.40 an ounce, while March palladium declined $1.70 to $351.65 an ounce.

Platinum futures seemed to be "overachieving" ahead of a planned strike in South Africa, a trader said. They were also "seeing a little bit of a bump" on word of a closed mine shaft, he said.

Palladium is down on supply-demand fundamentals, the trader said.

"The surplus is really just tremendous this year," he said.

The metal "doesn't want to go higher than this," the trader said. "Some say it doesn't deserve to be at $350."



Settlements (includes open-outcry and electronic trading):
London PM Gold Fix: $784.25 versus previous $783.50
Spot gold at 1:31 p.m. EST: $789.05, up $5.65; Range:
$777.20-$791.70
February gold (GCG08) $794.70, up $5.60; Range $783.00-
$798.00
March silver (SIH08) $14.210, up 4.5 cents; Range $13.960-
$14.395
January platinum (PLF08) $1,461.40, up $17.30; Range
$1,436.10-$1,462.00
March palladium (PAH08) $351.65, down $1.70; Range $348.75-
$354.05