NEW YORK, April 13 (Reuters) - U.S. gold futures rose in
thin trade on Monday as the dollar dropped and stock markets
weakened, and platinum rose more than 4 percent on fund buying
and signs of recovering Chinese demand.
For the latest detailed report, click on [GOL/].
GOLD
* Gold for June delivery GCM9 climbed $13.20, or 1.5
percent, to $896.50 an ounce at 10:31 a.m. EDT (1431 GMT) on
the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
* Ranged from $882.90 to $899.50 an ounce.
* Gold supported by a weaker dollar versus the euro as
Monday's decline on Wall Street stirred safe-haven buying.
* Firmness in bullion reflected caution over U.S. corporate
earnings, which get into full swing later this week - traders.
* Physical demand in the key centers such as Dubai and
India has started to show marginal recovery as gold prices have
steadied - Pradeep Unni, trader at Richcomm Global Services.
* Gold/oil ratio at 18.3 on Monday, higher than the
previous session as U.S. crude futures tumbled more than 6
percent on demand worries.
* Trading volume remained thin as markets in the United
Kingdom and most European countries, Australia and Hong Kong
were shut for the Easter holiday on Monday.
* Spot gold <XAU=> traded at $895.45, up 1.7 percent from
its late Friday quote of $880.65 in New York.
SILVER
* COMEX May silver SIK9 jumped 40 cents, or 3.2 percent,
to $12.730 an ounce, tracking precious metals strength.
* Ranged between $12.350 to $12.870 an ounce.
* Spot silver <XAG=> was at $12.71 an ounce, up 3.3 percent
from its previous finish of $12.32.
PLATINUM
* NYMEX July platinum PLN9 rose $52.20, or 4.4 percent,
to $1,247.50 an ounce on optimism that China's autocatalyst
demand will rise.
* China's Premier Wen Jiabao said the country's economy is
in a better shape than expected with March industrial output
growth exceeding forecasts. [ID:nSP469226]
* China said new lending and money supply growth both
surged to record highs in March as banks expanded their credit
to rejuvenate the economy.
* China's latest move would boost its farming sector and
stimulate platinum demand from growing production of minivans
and light trucks - Ralph D'Esposito, a NYMEX floor trader.
* PGMs are used in catalytic converters to clean exhaust
fumes for vehicles.
* Technical buying from investment funds because of sharply
higher spreads between platinum and gold prices seen -
D'Esposito.
* Spot platinum <XPT=> jumped to $1,235.50 an ounce, up 2.6
percent from its late Friday quote of 1,204.50.
PALLADIUM
* June palladium PAM9 climbed $9.85, or 4.3 percent, to
$240.95 an ounce, following platinum's rally.
* Spot palladium <XPD=> was at $237.50 an ounce, up 1.7
percent from its previous finish of $233.50.
(Reporting by Frank Tang; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
