US gold ends lower in narrow range as dollar weighs

NEW YORK, May 11 (Reuters) - New York gold futures finished
slightly lower after trading in a narrow range on Monday,
whipsawing between a stronger dollar and support from
alternative investment demand because of an equities market
sell-off.

For the latest detailed report, click on [GOL/].

GOLD

* Gold for June delivery GCM9 settled down $1.40 at
$913.50 an ounce on the COMEX division of the New York
Mercantile Exchange.

* A narrow trading range of less than $10, from $908.80 to
$918.40.

* Gold futures pressured by weakness from a broad-based
pullback of financial markets, but technical buying should
provide underlying support - traders.

* June futures limited further losses in spite of better
economic sentiment amid decline in U.S. stocks. S&P 500 index
was down over 1 percent following last week's rally.

* Gold largely ignored news that the White House raised its
forecast for the U.S. budget deficit for this year by $89
billion, reflecting the recession, a raft of new unemployment
claims and corporate bailouts. [ID:nN11526758]

* Gold prices still appeared "very expensive" in historical
terms relative to the grain market - Dennis Gartman,
independent investor and publisher of the Gartman Letter.

* A break above $947 would mean that gold broke above the
downward trend-line within its "cup-with-handle" technical
pattern, suggesting higher prices will follow - Adam Sarhan of
TheSarhanAnalysis.com.

* Noncommercial net long positions rose slightly to 129,991
lots, while open interest dropped 0.5 percent to 341,461 lots
in the week up to May 5 - CFTC report.

* COMEX gold futures open interest down 5,024 at 348,495
lots as of May 8.

* Gold/oil ratio rose to 15.75, higher than its previous
session.

* COMEX estimated 1 p.m. EDT (1700 GMT) volume at 44,696
lots.

* Spot gold XAU= traded at $913.10 an ounce at 1:36 p.m.
EDT (1736 GMT), down 0.3 percent from its late Friday quote in
New York.

* The London afternoon gold fix XAUFIX= was $913.00 an
ounce.

SILVER

* COMEX July silver SIN9 ended down 4.50 cents at $13.910
an ounce, tracking gold's weakness.

* Ranged from $13.680 to $14.035.

* COMEX estimated 1 p.m. volume at 10,050 lots.

* Spot silver XAG= was at $13.90 an ounce, down 0.6
percent from its previous finish.

* The London silver fix XAGFIX= at $13.900 an ounce.

PLATINUM

* NYMEX July platinum PLN9 finished down $26.40, or 2.3
percent, at $1,120.70 an ounce as a weaker stock market
dampened the outlook for autocatalyst demand.

* Spot platinum XPT= at $1,114.50 an ounce, down 2.8
percent from its late Friday quote.

PALLADIUM

* June palladium PAM9 closed down $5.30, or 2.2 percent,
at $237.00 an ounce on profit taking after last week's solid
gains.

* Spot palladium XPD= was at $233.50 an ounce, down 2.1
percent from its previous finish.
(Reporting by Frank Tang; Editing by Marguerita Choy)