NEW YORK, Nov 20 (Reuters) - COMEX gold was up a smidgen in quiet early trade Wednesday, stilled ahead of the expiration of December options on Thursday, while overbought speculators kept a lid on the market near $320 an ounce, dealers said.
"The last three days have been really quiet, it seems like holiday quiet," said a floor broker. "Funds are still long. We're getting a little bit of liquidation here today."
December futures were up 60 cents at $319.40, balancing Tuesday's 60 cent easing as the contract wavered between $319.70 and $318.60.
Pre-expiry position juggling centered on the popular $320 strike. That could keep futures in this tight range until the tug of war ends at the end of trade Thursday, sources said.
"There are reasonably large positions open at $315, but a very sizable open interest in the $320 series and few professionals are prepared to commit until after expiry," wrote Rhona O'Connell, markets analysis manager at the World Gold Council, in a commentary.
Gold and silver were in rollover period before December delivery notices start next week. But the broker said funds were favoring outright trimming of December gold positions over switching into February.
Spot bullion fetched $319.00/50, up from Tuesday's finish at $318.45/95. London dealers fixed the morning spot reference price at $319.
Gold garnered some support as a safe-asset from weakness in overseas stock markets and uncertainty before the Dec 8 deadline for Baghdad to submit a full account of all banned weapons to the United Nations or face a U.S.-led war to disarm Iraq and topple Saddam Hussein.
The Dow Jones industrial average opened with small losses, but the dollar was a tad firmer against the yen and euro in morning trade, a slightly negative influence on gold.
December silver was off 1.2 cents at $4.535 an ounce, trading $4.555-$4.53. Spot silver last fetched $4.53/55, off from $4.54/56 late Tuesday. It fixed at $4.545.
NYMEX January platinum was off $4 at $588 an ounce, consolidating this week's rally to new highs. Spot platinum was at $591/596.
December palladium was up $1.20 at $279.50 an ounce, steadying over Tuesday's contract low at $272.20. Spot palladium was at $273/279.