Gold Declines in Asia on Drop in Oil, Equities; Platinum Falls

By Glenys Sim

Dec. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Gold declined for the first time in three days in Asia as crude oil fell and equities dropped after U.S. retailers had the smallest gain for “Black Friday” holiday sales in three years. Platinum also tumbled.

Bullion fell as the euro declined against the dollar on expectations the European Central Bank will trim borrowing costs this week. The U.S. Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against six trading partners, rose for a second day.

“Gold will continue trading in the $750 to $850 range in the near term as flight-to-safety buying offsets reduced demand for an inflation hedge,” Zhu Bin, head of research at Nanhua Futures Co., said from Hangzhou.

Gold for immediate delivery dropped 1.4 percent to $806.36 an ounce at 3:14 p.m. in Singapore. Gold for February delivery lost 1.5 percent to $806.80 an ounce in after-hours electronic trading on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

U.S. retail sales rose 3 percent on Nov. 28, the smallest growth for a “Black Friday” in three years, and compared with a gain of 8.3 percent last year, research firm ShopperTrak RCT Corp. said. The day after the Thursday Thanksgiving holiday is considered to be when retailers begin to make the bulk of their yearly profit.

Gold for October delivery on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange fell 1.1 percent to 2,457 yen a gram ($802 an ounce) at 3:15 p.m. Singapore time, and Shanghai gold for June delivery settled at 176.92 yuan a gram ($802 an ounce).

Platinum Declines

Platinum slipped for the third time in four days on falling autocatalytic demand as the global recession worsens. The metal used mainly in jewelry and catalytic converters has fallen 44 percent this year as a global slowdown cuts vehicle demand.

General Motors Corp.’s board is meeting in Detroit to discuss a rescue plan to present to Congress that may determine if the largest U.S. automaker can be saved.

Immediate-delivery platinum fell 3 percent to $855 an ounce, and October-delivery platinum in Tokyo slipped 1.6 percent to 2,581 yen a gram.

Among other precious metals for immediate delivery, silver for immediate delivery declined 1.1 percent to $10.185 an ounce, and palladium was down 1.6 percent at $187.50 an ounce.

To contact the reporter on this story: Glenys Sim in Singapore at gsim4@bloomberg.net