NY gold ends down on dollar rise, weak ETF demand

NEW YORK, April 17 (Reuters) - New York gold futures ended
about 1.5 percent lower in quiet trade Friday in the face of a
stronger dollar and as better performance by the U.S. financial
sector lessened bullion's safe-haven investment demand. For the latest detailed report, click on [GOL/]. GOLD * Gold for June delivery GCM9 settled down $11.90, or 1.4
percent, at $867.90 an ounce on the COMEX division of New York
Mercantile Exchange. * Ranged from $865.60 to $877.90. * U.S. bellwether companies General Electric (GE.N) and
Citigroup (C.N) both posted better-than-expected quarterly
results, dampening flight-to-quality buying in the gold market
- traders. * Gold's near-term outlook shaky because of firm dollar,
continued buoyancy of equities, weak investment demand, and
possible gold sales by the International Monetary Fund - Bill
O'Neill, managing partner of LOGIC Advisors. * Bullion holdings at SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest
gold-backed ETF, fell 8.25 tonnes from their previous record
level on Thursday to 1,119.43 tonnes -- its biggest outflow
since late October. [GOL/SPDR] * Gold off due to more pressure by dollar buyers, better
financial stock performance, and asset allocations in
commodities looking at grains and softs - George Gero, vice
president of RBC Capital Markets Global Futures. * Gold market is trying to find its direction, as the
relative certainty of the United States versus Europe boosted
the dollar - Zachary Oxman, managing director with TrendMax
Futures. * The price of gold could tumble to $730 an ounce if
support gets breached, as the metal has failed to follow
through on its recent rise - CitiFX. [ID:nN17375513] * Gold/oil ratio at 17.3 on Friday, compared with 17.5 in
the previous session. * COMEX estimated 1 p.m. electronic futures volume at
60,016 lots. Floor volume was not available due to a technical
glitch. * COMEX gold open interest up 3,614 at 339,757 lots as of
April 17. * Spot gold traded at $867.45 an ounce at 2:23 p.m.
EDT (1823 GMT), down 0.8 percent from its late Thursday quote
in New York. * The London afternoon gold fix was $870.50 an
ounce. SILVER * COMEX May silver SIK9 ended down 46.5 cents, or 3.8
percent, at $11.790 an ounce, following gold's weakness. * Ranged between $11.775 and $12.250. * COMEX estimated 1 p.m. electronic futures volume at
14,690 lots. Floor volume unavailable due to a technical
problem. * Spot silver was at $11.85 an ounce, down 3.0
percent from its previous finish. * The London silver fix at $11.980 an ounce. PLATINUM * NYMEX July platinum PLN9 finished down $4.20 at
$1,211.60 an ounce as the market continued to consolidate the
sharp gains posted earlier this week. * Spot platinum at $1,205.00 an ounce, up 0.3
percent from its late Thursday quote. PALLADIUM * June palladium PAM9 dropped $2.60, or 1.1 percent, to
close at $233.55 an ounce in sympathy with platinum's decline. * Spot palladium was at $229.50 an ounce, off 0.7
percent from its previous finish.
(Reporting by Frank Tang and Chris Kelly; Editing by Lisa
Shumaker)