Gold strikes 2-week low on oil; platinum down 3 percent

Lewa Pardomuan
Reuters
Tuesday, Sept 2, 2008

Gold struck a two-week low on Tuesday as speculators ditched some holdings after oil fell to its weakest in nearly five months and the U.S. dollar rallied to an 10-month high against a basket of currencies.

A political crisis in Thailand, Asia's fourth-largest gold investor, had yet to spur safe-haven buying and jewellery makers which had earlier bought gold on dips also disappeared.

Platinum dropped 3 percent to a one-week low on demand concerns.

Gold fell to $805.20/806.40 an ounce from $817.15/818.75 an ounce late in London. New York markets were closed on Monday for the Labor Day holiday.

"After breaking below $820, most people think it's a matter of time before gold retests $800," said Ronald Leung, director of Lee Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong.

"The physical buyers are around but they pulled back a little bit when they saw the market going down. They are also watching how the dollar and oil prices behave," he said.

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