Gold ends tad lower as market takes breather

By Frank Tang

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Gold finished slightly lower in New York on Tuesday, giving back all of its initial gains after rising toward a record high, as the bullion market took a breather on signs that the credit market meltdown could take a toll on global growth.

Patrick Fearon, precious metals analyst with A.G. Edwards & Sons in St. Louis, said that a sharp bounce in the dollar from its early lows and falling energy prices triggered profit taking.

"And I think ultimately you also have to keep in mind that with the global economy slowing down, at some point, that's going to be negative for gold. So we should expect to see a pullback at some point," Fearon said.

Spot gold <XAU=> rose as high as $913.70 an ounce after falling to a low of $894.10. It was quoted at $899.50/900.20 by New York's last quote at 2:15 p.m. EST, against $902.10/902.80 in New York late on Monday when it hit an all-time high of $914.

The most-active U.S. gold contract for February delivery at the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange GCG8 settled down 80 cents at $902.60 an ounce. Earlier, it bottomed at $891.90 before setting a record high of $916.10 for COMEX futures on a continual spot-month basis.

The New York February contract has now hit record highs during each of the last six sessions.

The dollar fell to its lowest against the yen since June 2005 and was initially lower versus the euro after U.S. retail sales data provided further evidence an economic slowdown was spreading to the consumer.

However, heavy selling of the U.S. currency against the yen pushed the euro down by midafternoon.