US gold ends 2 pct lower,under $940 on dollar rise

NEW YORK, June 12 (Reuters) - U.S. gold futures broke below
$940 an ounce on Friday, finishing 2 percent lower on a strong
dollar rally, which prompted funds to switch money out of the
commodities sector and into other investments.

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

GOLD

* August GCQ9 settled down $21.30, or 2.2 percent, at
$940.70 an ounce on the COMEX division of the New York
Mercantile Exchange.

* Ranged from $959.20 to $936.20, which marked the weakest
price since May 20.

* Sharp dollar rise, after hitting four-day low against the
euro on Thursday, because of weak euro-zone industrial
production data and a better-than-expected U.S. consumer
sentiment report. [USD/]

* Metal prices looked near a top in an overbought market -
Miguel Perez-Santalla, vice president of sales at Heraeus
Precious Metals Management.

* In the near term, money could move out of commodities
such as gold and oil into other investments, because market
fundamentals of commodities did not support recent price rally
- Perez-Santalla.

* Widening spread between current and historical implied
volatility signals price fluctuation of the underlying gold
bullion could be on the rise - analysts.

* Simmering geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and
the Korean peninsula, combined with potential U.S. fiscal
problems and inflation worries could still provide background
support to gold as a safe haven - traders.

* COMEX estimated 1 p.m. volume at 93,189 lots.

* Gold/oil ratio at 13.05, lower than the 13.18 of the
previous session.

* COMEX gold futures open interest down 35 at 388,339 lots
as of June 11.

* Spot gold XAU= traded at $938.40 at 2:14 p.m. EDT (1814
GMT), down 1.6 percent from its previous session.

* London gold fix XAUFIX= at $937.25 an ounce.

SILVER

* July SIN9 finished down 61.80 cents, or 4 percent, at
$14.875 an ounce, as the more speculative metal fell more than
gold.

* Ranged from $14.780 to $15.435.

* COMEX estimated 1 p.m. volume at 30,516 lots.

* Spot silver XAG= was at $14.85 an ounce, down 3.4
percent from its previous finish.

* London silver fix XAGFIX= at $15.070 an ounce.

PLATINUM

* July PLN9 ended down $14.40, or 1.1 percent, at
$1,258.70 an ounce, weighed down by across-the-board selling in
the industrial metals complex.

* Spot platinum XPT= at $1,251.50 an ounce, down 0.8
percent from its previous session.

PALLADIUM

* September PAU9 closed down $1.90 at $254.10 an ounce,
as traders looked for a definite direction from the latest
development of the battered U.S. auto industry.

* Spot palladium XPD= was at $250.50 an ounce, down 1.4
percent from its previous finish.

Close Change Pct 2008 YTD

Chg Close Pct Chg
US gold GCQ9 940.70 -21.30 -2.2 884.30 6.4
US silver SIN9 14.875 -0.618 -4.0 11.295 31.7
US platinum PLN9 1258.70 -14.40 -1.1 941.50 33.7
US palladium PAU9 254.10 -1.90 -0.7 188.70 34.7
Prices at 2:14 p.m. EDT (1814 GMT)
Gold XAU= 938.40 -15.60 -1.6 878.200 6.9
Silver XAG= 14.85 -0.52 -3.4 11.30 31.4
Platinum XPT= 1251.50 -9.50 -0.8 924.50 35.4
Palladium XPD= 250.50 -3.50 -1.4 184.50 35.8
Gold Fix XAUFIX= 937.25 -10.25 -1.1 836.50 12.0
Silver Fix XAGFIX= 15.070 -0.020 -0.1 14.760 2.1
Platinum Fix XPTFIX= 1241.00 0.00 0.0 1529.00 -18.8
Palladium Fix XPDFIX= 252.50 0.00 0.0 365.00 -30.8
-------------------------------------------------------------
Prices in dollars per ounce.
2008 close for U.S. gold second contract month, U.S. silver and
palladium third contract months and U.S. platinum fourth
contract month.
(Reporting by Frank Tang; Editing by Christian Wiessner)