SINGAPORE: Gold steadied on Tuesday as oil regained some footing after falling more than 3% the previous session but a firmer US dollar put pressure on the metal, which was struggling to sustain recent gains. Gold was trading at $737.40 an ounce, up $1.50 from New York's notional close on Monday, when it traded in a volatile $18 an ounce range. Gold has slipped since hitting a two-month high of $931 an ounce in early October, and is down nearly 30% since hitting a peak at $1,030.80 in March. Platinum was trading at $810.00 an ounce, up $2.50 on bargain hunting ahead of a report on platinum and palladium markets later on Tuesday from the world's top platinum refiner, Johnson Matthey. The auto industry's deteriorating outlook has hit platinum, used to make autocatalysts to clean exhaust fumes. Prices of the metal have collapsed by more than 60% since a record high of $2,290 an ounce in March. US crude futures edged up to above $55 a barrel on Tuesday, after settling at the lowest in nearly 22 months a day earlier, as worries about the economic outlook in the United States and Japan stoked concerns about global fuel demand. The euro eased to $1.2642. While the dollar was hurt by the gloomy state of the US economy, investors' low risk appetite may lend support to the dollar as investors seek the refuge of US Treasuries, said dealers. New York gold futures GCZ8 fell $4.5 an ounce to $737.5.
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