Gold Struggles,Ends Slightly Dn
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Comex gold futures struggled with 
moving above the $470
level Tuesday at the New York Mercantile Exchange and 
settled slightly lower. 
 
  Traders said gold followed the path of the euro as it 
moved lower against the
U.S. dollar. 
 
  The benchmark December contract settled down 10 cents at 
$469.00 an ounce. 
 
  "Last week gold was able to recover despite the dollar 
strength and there was
added support from the unrest in France and the Jordan 
bombings but now it is
stuck in the middle of a range," said Dave Rinehimer, 
director of futures
research of Citigroup Global Markets. 
 
  "It will be difficult for gold to move higher with the 
dollar strength and
that is a function of the interest rate expectations," 
Rinehimer added. 
 
  U.S. economic data infer that interest rates will 
continue to rise and for
gold to move higher, the dollar would need to backtrack, 
trade sources said. 
 
  "But the dollar looks like it will continue to strengthen 
in the near term,"
said Rinehimer. 
 
  Frank Lesh, an analyst with Rand Financial Services, said 
gold is holding
well despite the rising dollar. 
 
  He added that news that Russia's Central Bank is 
considering upgrading its
gold reserves from current levels is lending some support 
to gold futures. 
 
  Support for December gold is seen at $466 and $461 while 
resistance is seen
at $471, $476 and $477.50 an ounce, said Lesh. 
 
  Silver futures settled just above the unchanged level 
after dipping to a
$7.700 session low. It later closed up 0.5 cent at $7.787. 
 
  Platinum futures maintained recent high levels but 
settled slightly lower at
$974.90 an ounce, down $1.10 on the day. 
 
  Traders said platinum slipped on some profit-taking after 
reaching 25-year
highs of $980 on Monday. 
 
  One analyst said that platinum is still set for further 
gains due to
increased fund interest and strong demand from the 
automobile industry. 
 
  Johnson Matthey, a London-based precious metals refiner, 
said in an interim
review Tuesday that the global platinum market is expected 
to remain in deficit
in 2005 at 6.71 million ounces of demand versus 6.59 
million ounces of supply.
Prices are expected to fluctuate between $890 and $1,030 
over the next six
months.