LONDON: Gold slipped in Europe on Wednesday as the dollar recouped losses against the euro and inflation fears eased after oil prices fell. Spot gold was bid at $1,124.00 a troy ounce at 1549 GMT, against $1,127.95 late in New York on Tuesday. US gold futures for February delivery on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange eased $5.1 to $1,124.30. Gold hit a record high of $1,226.10 a tonne on Dec 3. Analysts said lower gold prices in recent weeks meant more activity in the physical market. Silver was bid at $18.33 an ounce against $18.24. Among other precious metals, platinum was at $1,559.50 an ounce against $1,568.50, while palladium was at $417.50 against $421.50. Copper recovers: Copper bounced off two-week lows hit on Wednesday, supported by a weaker dollar but the metal remained under pressure on worries tighter monetary policy in China could hurt demand. Benchmark copper for three-months delivery on the London Metal Exchange traded at $7,420 a tonne by 1456 GMT, versus a close of $7,455 on Tuesday. It earlier fell to $7,298 a tonne, its lowest since Dec 30. A potential positive for the market was the widening LME-Shanghai arbitrage — up around 800 yuan from around 650 yuan at the start of year — boosting the likelihood of strong Chinese import demand. Aluminium bounced to $2,295 after touching a two-week low of $2,230 a tonne. LME stocks of the metals used in transport and packaging fell 5,250 tonnes, standing at just under 4.6 million tonnes. Zinc was at $2,500 from $2,476. Battery material lead was at $2,443 from $2,432. It earlier hit a two-week low of $2,370. Tin traded at $17,915 from $17,895. Nickel was bid at $17,909 from $ 17,700. The metal used for galvanising steel earlier fell to $17,325, its lowest in more than three weeks. reuters

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