U.S. gold ends under $1,000/oz, near two-week low

NEW YORK, Sept 24 (Reuters) - U.S. gold futures fell to a
two-week low in heavy trading on Thursday, slipping below
$1,000 an ounce, as the dollar rallied amid a wave of risk
aversion, decreasing the appeal of gold as a currency hedge.

For the latest detailed report, click on [GOL/].

GOLD

* December gold GCZ9 settled down $15.50, or 1.5 percent,
at $998.90 an ounce on the COMEX division of New York
Mercantile Exchange.

* Range from $1,021 to $991.30, lowest since Sept. 10.

* Weaker-than-expected U.S. housing data sparked a flight
to safety, boosting the dollar and U.S. Treasury bonds and
weighing on gold - traders.

* Thursday's drop was a minor correction after gold failed
to break above strong resistance at $1,020 an ounce level -
Bruce Dunn, vice president of trading at Auramet Trading.

* Quarter-end and month-end position-squaring and
liquidation in an overly long gold futures market cited -
Dunn.

* Options-related selling pressured December futures. COMEX
October gold and silver options expire on Thursday.

* Given the large open interest of options at the strike
price of $1,000 an ounce, gold remained close to that level on
Thursday - John Reade, head of precious metals strategy at
UBS.

* U.S. oil futures dropped $3 to under $66 a barrel, hurt
by a lower equities market. [O/R]

* Gold-to-oil ratio at 15.12, up from the previous
session's 14.66.

* COMEX estimated 1 p.m. volume at a busy 166,017 lots.

* Spot gold XAU= at $995.30, versus $1,007.05, which was
the previous session's late New York quote.

* London afternoon gold fix XAUFIX= was at $1,009.75 an
ounce.

SILVER

* December silver SIZ9 ended down 61.5 cents, or 3.6
percent, at $16.295 an ounce, tracking gold's decline.

* Range from $16.185 to $17.045.

* COMEX estimated 1 p.m. volume at 36,308 lots.

* Spot silver XAG= was at $16.27, versus its previous
finish of 16.71 an ounce.

* London silver fix XAGFIX= at $16.76 an ounce.

PLATINUM

* October platinum PLV9 finished down $19.30, or 1.5
percent, at $1,308.50 an ounce, following general weakness of
metals across the board.

* Spot platinum XPT= was at $1,299, compared with its
previous finish of $1,318.50.

PALLADIUM

* December palladium PAZ9 closed up 25 cents at $297.90
an ounce, helped by bargain hunting.

* Spot palladium XPD= was at $291, against its previous
close of $292.

Close Change Pct 2008 YTD

Chg Close % Chg
US gold GCZ9 998.90 -15.5 -1.5 884.3 13.0
US silver SIZ9 16.295 -0.615 -3.6 11.295 44.3
US platinum PLV9 1308.50 -19.30 -1.5 941.50 39.0
US palladium PAZ9 297.90 0.25 0.1 188.70 57.9
Prices at 2:42 p.m. EDT (1842 GMT)
Gold XAU= 995.40 -11.65 -1.2 878.20 13.3
Silver XAG= 16.27 -0.44 -2.6 11.30 44.0
Platinum XPT= 1298.50 -20.00 -1.5 924.50 40.5
Palladium XPD= 291.50 -0.500 -0.2 184.50 58.0
Gold Fix XAUFIX= 1009.75 -4.25 -0.4 836.50 20.7
Silver Fix XAGFIX= 16.76 -34.00 -2.0 14.76 13.6
Platinum Fix XPTFIX= 1325.00 7.00 0.5 1529 -13.3
Palladium FixXPDFIX= 298.00 4.00 1.4 365.0 -18.4
(Reporting by Frank Tang; Editing by Walter Bagley)