Gold dipped below $900 an ounce on Wednesday after a firmer U.S. dollar spurred selling, with investors turning their attention to the results of stress tests on U.S. banks that could potentially benefit the metal. The U.S. government stress test results are due on Thursday and could show about 10 of the 19 largest U.S. banks under review would need to raise more capital. A source familiar with results said Bank of America (BAC.N) was deemed to need an additional $34 billion in capital. [ID:nN04395186] [ID:nN05520304] Spot gold was quoted at $898.40 an ounce, down $4.80 from New York's notional close. Gold rallied to $915.45 on Tuesday, its highest since April 27, before slipping as the dollar changed course and rose against the euro. "If the stress test results are not good and if the banks need to raise more money, it just means the financial system is still not out of the woods yet and investors could turn back to risk aversion again," said a dealer in Singapore. "When we move back to risk aversion, then the safe havens should benefit and the riskier assets such as stocks should retrace," he said. Gold was around 10 percent below an 11-month high above $1,000 hit in February as attempts to revisit that level were met by profit taking, weaker oil and gains in stock markets, which prompted investors to shift some of their money to shares. "From what I see in the charts and what gold did yesterday, it doesn't look very good. Gold traded to the highs of $915 then ended lower," said the dealer in Singapore. "The broader picture still remains on the test results and the ECB meeting," said the dealer, referring to expectations the European Central Bank will cut its main policy rate to a record low on Thursday. U.S. gold futures for June delivery GCM9 fell $4.80 an ounce to $899.50 on on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The euro slipped to $1.3248 from a one-month peak of $1.3437, and was weaker than $1.3324 late in New York on Tuesday. [USD/] U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Tuesday the world's largest economy was on track for a recovery but said the rebound would be slow and the jobless rate would still rise. [ID:nN05470010]. The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the SPDR Gold Trust GLD, said holdings stayed at 1,104.45 tonnes as of May 5, unchanged since April 23. (GOL/SPDR] The physical gold market was largely deserted after the metal's volatile trade on Tuesday. Despite the drop, gold was about 4 percent above a near 3-month low of $864 struck in mid-April. "I think people are reluctant to commit to the high price," said Ronald Leung, director of Lee Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong. "The market is thin. It's easy to manipulate the market." Japanese markets are closed for Golden Week holidays until Wednesday. Turkey said its gold imports declined in April to 25.7 kg, against 40 kg in March. Year-on-year, they were down 97.5 percent from 1,030 kg. [ID:nL5663459] Platinum was at $1,122.00 an ounce, down $3.50 from New York's notional close. PRICES Precious metals prices at 0303 GMT Metal Last Change Pct chg Day ago pct MA 30 RSI Spot gold $898.40 -$4.80 -0.53% +0.16% $860.10 57 Spot silver $13.30 -$0.04 -0.30% +11.02% $11.29 67 Spot plat $1122.00 -$3.50 -0.31% +0.45% $1152.60 47 COMEX gold $899.50 -$4.80 -0.53% -0.30% $899.53 50 Currencies Euro/dlr $1.327 $0.004 +0.27% +0.14% Dlr/yen 98.25 1.48 +1.53% +1.13%

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