US gold ends higher on jitters before stress test

NEW YORK, May 6 (Reuters) - New York gold futures ended higher for a
third straight day on Wednesday as stress tests on U.S. banks underscored
lingering uncertainties in the financial markets, bolstering the metal's
safe-haven appeal.

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GOLD

* Gold for June delivery GCM9 settled up $6.70 at $911.00 an ounce on
the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

* Ranged from $895.40 to $913.50.

* Jittery investors poured money into gold as a safe-haven investment
ahead of Thursday's release of results of stress tests on 19 large U.S.
banks - James Steel, chief commodities analyst at HSBC.

* Regulators have told Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) it needs $34
billion of capital to withstand a deep economic downturn, and Citigroup may
need $5 billion due to results of the government stress test - sources.

* Gold futures ignored stock market gains, led by advances in bank
stocks. Broad S&P 500 index rose 1.5 percent.

* Gold/S&P ratio, a gauge of gold's strength compared to equities, fell
below 1 as stocks rally.

* Gold mining stocks, measured by the Gold BUGS index .HUI, for
"Basket of Unhedged Gold Stocks," broadly jumped over 4 percent on the back
of the bullion price rally.

* Stock markets initially supported by news that U.S. private-sector
job losses slowed much more than expected in April, hitting their lowest
since November 2008 - ADP Employer Services. [ID:nN06543688]

* U.S. crude futures rose to a 2009 high above $56 a barrel, suggesting
economic activity may be picking up, boosting gold's appeal as a hedge
against inflation - HSBC's Steel.

* COMEX estimated 1 p.m. EDT (1700 GMT) volume at 71,900 lots.

* COMEX gold futures open interest up 7,101 contracts at 341,461 lots
as of May 5. <NYMMTLFUT/VOI>

* Gold/oil ratio fell to 16.22 from 16.76 the previous session.

* Spot gold XAU= traded at $909.85 an ounce at 2:21 p.m., up 0.7
percent from its late Tuesday quote in New York.

* The London afternoon gold fix XAUFIX= was $910.00 an ounce.

SILVER

* COMEX July silver SIN9 ended up 29.00 cents, or 2.2 percent, at
$13.710 an ounce as less liquid silver outperformed gold.

* Ranged from $13.270 to $13.835.

* COMEX estimated 1 p.m. volume at 18,179 lots.

* Spot silver XAG= was at $13.70 an ounce, up 2.7 percent from its
previous finish.

* The London silver fix XAGFIX= at $13.440 an ounce.

PLATINUM

* NYMEX July platinum PLN9 finished up $5.20 at $1,143.10 an ounce as
economic optimism boosted autocatalyst demand.

* Spot platinum XPT= at $1,135.00 an ounce, up 0.8 percent from its
late Tuesday quote.

PALLADIUM

* June palladium PAM9 tracked platinum to close up $5.15, or 2.3
percent, at $228.05 an ounce.

* Spot palladium XPD= was at $226.50 an ounce, up 3.7 percent from
its previous finish.
(Reporting by Frank Tang; Editing by John Picinich)