RTRS: Gold slips after biggest daily gain in 3 weeks
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Gold edged down to around $800 on Thursday to track weaker equities, a day after posting its biggest daily rise in almost three weeks, but cuts in oil output could spur safe-haven buying.
Profit-taking also erased some of gold's gains but analysts said investors' appetite for risky assets was somewhat restored after bullion rallied to a high of $813.10 on Wednesday, its strongest since December 1, on firm U.S. equities and oil.
Gold was trading at $803.05 an ounce, down $6.85 from New York's notional close on Wednesday, when it rose more than 4 percent, its biggest daily percentage gain since November 21. Gold was 18 percent above a 13-month low around $680 hit in October.
"We've obviously seen the commodities rally again, a generic rally. Gold is probably the most attractive of the current commodities from an investor's standpoint," said Darren Heathcote of Investec Australia in Sydney.
"Given that we are having relative stability in the stock markets, I would suggest it's certainly underpinned. With the possibility of production cuts in oil, we've got potentially more reasons to be buying gold," he said.
Gold could find support around the 10-day moving average around $782, said dealers, with resistance seen at around $822 -- an intraday high hit in late November.
On Wednesday, the Reuters-Jefferies CRB Index, a global commodities benchmark, rose around 3 percent, after having settled down almost 2 percent on Tuesday.
Oil rose further, to around $43 a barrel, on signs that Saudi Arabia had slashed supplies substantially to major customers for January ahead of an OPEC meeting next week that is expected to agree to more output cuts.
Fears of rising energy costs helped propel gold to a record of $1,030.80 in March before it slipped after oil changed course, and recently due to a sell-off in equities, which forced investors to sell bullion to cover margin calls.
The Nikkei fell 0.8 percent on Thursday, losing some of this week's gains on a stronger yen and on doubts whether U.S. lawmakers would quickly approve a bailout plan for automakers.
The euro was hardly changed, at $1.3017, after hitting a two-week high of $1.3071.
Platinum traded at $819.50 an ounce, down $2.50 from New York notional close as it failed to sustain early gains to $830 due to uncertainty over U.S. auto bailout package.
The House of Representatives approved bailout legislation on Wednesday that would force U.S. automakers to restructure or fail, sending the measure to the Senate where prospects for passage are uncertain.
New York gold futures fell $3.3 an ounce to $805.5 in electronic trade.
