* Gold eases from 6-week high as dollar edges up
* Asian shares jump, risk aversion recedes
* Oil dips below $54 a barrel
(Adds quotes, updates prices)
SINGAPORE, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Gold dropped more than 1 pct
on Tuesday as the dollar gained against the euro and as
investors booked profits after pushing bullion to its highest
in almost six weeks on turmoil in financial markets.
Gold, which posted its biggest two-day rally since January
2000 this week, has rebounded more than 18 percent since
tumbling to a 13-month low of $680.80 an ounce in late October,
when a sharp sell-off in equities forced investors sell gold to
cover losses.
By 0250 GMT, gold was $5.95 an ounce lower at
$813.60 an ounce from New York's notional close on Monday, when
it a high of $829.20 after the U.S. government's rescue of
Citigroup (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research) reinforced financial uncertainty.
"There's some selling, most probably from the physical side
because gold has gone up so much, but I guess the trend is
still pretty good. Physical buyers such as jewellers would like
to wait for a while," said a dealer in Hong Kong.
"I would think gold will try to break yesterday's high
around $929 again."
Safe-haven gold has gained as much as 11 percent in the
last two trading sessions. It struck a two-month high of $931
in early October but has since traded in a wide range as it
struggled to revisit March's record of $1,030.80.
The euro eased to $1.2903 after hitting a two-week
high in New York as risk aversion eased after the U.S.
government agreed to inject $20 billion of new capital to
Citigroup. [USD/]
Oil CLc1 fell below $54 a barrel on Tuesday. It rose nearly
10 percent in the previous session after a rebound in equity
markets and expectations of another OPEC cut helped the market
score its biggest two-day gain in two months.[O/R]
A firmer dollar reduces gold's appeal as an alternative
investment, while weaker oil prices rob gold of some of its
appeal as a hedge against inflation.
Gold was likely to trade in a narrow range before an OPEC
informal meeting in Cairo later this month, said Kazuhito Saito
of Interes Capital Management in Tokyo.
"There will be position squaring in all commodities. New
York crude oil will trade between $50 and $55. Gold's range
will be narrow this week," said Saito.
Jewellery makers were on the sidelines but there was some
buying of platinum by Japanese investors, he added.
Platinum traded at $860.00 an ounce, up $4.00 from
New York's notional close. It hit a two-week high of $868 an
ounce, driven by recent gains in gold and buying by the
Japanese.
Japan's Nikkei average .N225 jumped more than 4 percent
on Tuesday after Wall Street soared the previous day. [.T]
New York gold futures GCZ8 fell $5.0 an ounce to $814.5
Precious metals prices at 0246 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 813.60 -5.95 -0.73 -2.29
Spot Silver 10.43 -0.04 -0.38 -29.38
Spot Platinum 860.00 4.00 +0.47 -43.42
Spot Palladium 196.00 5.50 +2.89 -46.74
Euro/Dollar 1.2874
Dollar/Yen 96.69
(Reporting by Lewa Pardomuan; Editing by Anshuman Daga)
