US gold rises above $980 as weak dollar stirs inflows

NEW YORK, May 29 (Reuters) - U.S. gold futures rose above $980 an ounce
Friday to end near a three-month high as resurgent risk appetite pummeled
the dollar, attracting investment inflows into the bullion market.

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

GOLD

* August GCQ9 settled up $17.10, or 1.8 percent, at $980.30 an ounce
on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

* Ranged from $960.40 to $982 which marked the highest price since Feb.
25.

* Buying in gold as a hedge against the falling dollar increased after
the greenback fell to five-month lows against a basket of currencies .DXY
and the euro rose above $1.41.

* Evidence of an easing global recession drove investors to snap up
higher-yielding currencies and riskier assets, sending the U.S. currency
sharply lower. [USD/]

* Gold rally supported by the combination of a weaker dollar and a
recovery in broad commodities prices - James Steel, chief commodities
analyst at HSBC.

* Substantial investment inflows into the commodity sector, most
prominently in oil, also helped gold - Steel.

* Gold futures largely ignored weak physical demand after a trade group
from top gold consumer India said gold imports so far in May have been in
the range of 10 to 15 tonnes, sharply lower compared with May last year.
[ID:nDEL451036]

* Gold/oil ratio at 14.85, slightly higher than the 14.81 of the
previous session.

* COMEX gold futures open interest up 1,341 at 398,306 lots as of May
28.

* Spot gold XAU= traded at $976.80 an ounce at 2:13 p.m. EDT (1813
GMT), up 1.9 percent from its late Thursday quote in New York.

* London gold fix XAUFIX= $975.50 an ounce.

SILVER

* Silver futures rose to a nine-month high above $15 an ounce, driven
by strong investment buying - traders.

* July SIN9 finished up 45.00 cents, or 3 percent, at $15.630 an
ounce.

* Ranged from $15.145 to $15.670, which marked the highest price since
August last year.

* Support from COMEX December call options activity and technical
buying cited for silver's strength - analysts.

* Spot silver XAG= was at $15.61 an ounce, up 3.2 percent from its
previous finish.

* London silver fix XAGFIX= at $15.52 an ounce.

PLATINUM

* NYMEX July platinum PLN9 ended up $46.20, or 4 percent, at
$1,196.00 an ounce on precious metals' gains amid a broad commodities
rally.

* Platinum rose in spite of a looming bankruptcy by General Motors Corp
GM.N after the U.S. carmaker persuaded its major bondholders to accept a
sweetened ownership plan. [ID:nSP402834]

* The global car industry accounted for 60 percent of total platinum
demand as catalytic converters for automobiles.

* Spot platinum XPT= at $1,187.00 an ounce, up 4.2 percent from its
late Thursday quote.

PALLADIUM

* September palladium PAU9 closed up $3.95, or 1.7 percent, at
$237.45 an ounce, tracking platinum's gains.

* Spot palladium XPD= was at $232.50 an ounce, up 3.3 percent from
its previous finish.
(Reporting by Frank Tang; Editing by John Picinich)