February 21, 2006	Tuesday	Muharram 22, 1427

LONDON, Feb 20: Gold prices moved to 10-day highs on Monday, supported by a rise in crude oil and a drop in the dollar, and dealers said the metal was expected to extend gains.

Other precious metals followed gold higher after tumbling in the previous week, with platinum rising nearly two per cent and with silver climbing to its highest in more than a week.

The downside appears quite limited at present...There are factors pointing to further gains in the gold market in the short term, said Yingxi Yu, analyst at Barclays Capital, citing firm oil prices and a weakening dollar.

Spot gold rose as high as $555.60/556.40 an ounce by 1044 GMT, compared with $551.70/552.60 in New York on Friday.

Gold fell to a one-month low around $534 early last week as the market consolidated after a steep correction from a 25-year high of $574.60 reached on Feb. 2.

Dealers were cautious as physical demand was slow and investors would be absent from the New York market on Monday due to the Presidents Day holiday.—Reuters