Gold slides with oil as investors book profits

London: Gold slipped yesterday as a drop in oil prices prompted investors to take profits from recent highs, but the market appeared to ignore news that the International Monetary Fund planned to sell some of its gold.

Gold fell as low as $917.60 an ounce before rising to to $922.85/$923.5 at 1028 GMT from $923.70/$924.50 late in New York on Monday, when it jumped to a high at $929.10. It hit a record high of $1,030.80 on March 17.

"We see some hesitation here, as we had a $920-$950 trading range that was broken on the downside. The potential to break higher is still there but it will depend on the euro-dollar," said Frederic Panizzutti, metals analyst at MKS Finance.

"We see some slowdown in the physical activity and that's also putting some pressure on the market. If we manage to move away for the lower end of the range, then we might see some upside potential."

Oil fell below $109, but was supported on concerns that a refinery problem in Europe will further tighten fuel supplies in the region.