NEW YORK, Nov 18 (Reuters) - COMEX gold futures surged Tuesday morning on a wave of fund buying after Monday's retreat from $400 an ounce resistance, and traders said dealings should remain volatile as players plot their next move.
NYMEX platinum shot back toward 23-year and contract highs at $776 an ounce set Thursday as a mixed report by refiner Johnson Matthey failed to lessen investor appetite for the metal, according to analysts.
December gold was below Monday's 7-1/2-year peak at $399.90 an ounce. But dealers said it kept its luster as a safe haven amid geopolitical tensions and gyrating currency and equity markets.
"Today feels like an adjustment day after yesterday -- a lot of position squaring -- and I think we have to wait to see what happens over the course of this week," said a New York desk trader of gold.
At 10:51 EST (1551 GMT), December gold was up $5 at $396.50 an ounce, trading from $390.40 to $397.80.
Monday's lower close marked the fourth failure in as many sessions to clear the psychological level of $400. Funds got antsy sitting on a near-record long position, gambling on a breakout, dealers said.
"Now that we've failed at $400, there is support at yesterday's low at $386, and all the way down to $370," said a desk trader.
The euro surged more than 1 percent against the dollar to hit a five-month high after stop-loss orders were triggered above $1.1860, according to traders.
The dollar's recent weakness has been a big bonus for gold as it makes the precious metal more affordable to buyers in foreign currencies.
Spot gold was quoted at $395.30/6.00 against Monday's New York close at $390.75/1.50. London's morning fix was $392.40 an ounce.
Riding gold's coattails, December silver advanced 10.8 cents to $5.335 an ounce, moving within a $5.22 to $5.34 range. Spot silver was last at $5.31/33 versus the New York finish at $5.21/23. It fixed at $5.205.
NYMEX January platinum rallied $18.70 to $773 an ounce, in a range of $751.50 to $774.80. Spot platinum fetched $768.00/773.00.
"You can see how resilient the market is, like gold and silver, (with) the ability to bounce back," Ralph D'Esposito of RJ Futures said.
He cited commission house buying on the platinum opening in the face of scale-up trade selling.
December palladium rose $2.45 to $201.50 an ounce. Spot was at $196.00/201.00.