Gold and Silver Snips

NEW YORK, Sept 23 (Reuters) - U.S. gold futures dropped on
Wednesday on a dollar bounce and weaker oil, but traders said
bullion would largely be range-bound ahead of closely watched
policy-setting announcements by the Federal Reserve.

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

 GOLD

 * December gold GCZ9 down $7 at $1,008.50 an ounce at
10:43 a.m. EDT (1443 GMT) on the COMEX division of New York
Mercantile Exchange.

 * Ranged from $1,007.20 to $1,020.40.

 * The combination of a stronger dollar and sharply lower
crude oil prices triggered profit-taking in gold futures -
traders.

 * U.S. oil futures dropped nearly $3 to under $70 a barrel
after weekly government data showed a rise in crude inventory.
[O/R]

 * Precious metals are expected to trade range-bound ahead
of the Federal Reserve announcement this afternoon, but any
rate hike will put pressure on precious metals - Miguel
Perez-Santalla, vice president of sales of Heraeus Precious
Metals Management.

 * The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund
(ETF), the SPDR Gold Trust GLD, said its holdings were
unchanged at 1,101.735 tonnes as of Sept. 22, but it was up
from 1,086.479 tonnes on Sept. 18.

 * The increase in ETF demand in the face of high prices is
supportive of the gold rally - James Steel, chief commodities
analyst at HSBC.

 * Gold-to-oil ratio at 14.55, up from the previous
session's 14.21.

 * COMEX estimated 10 a.m. volume at 43,460 lots.

 * Spot gold XAU= at $1,006.60 versus $1,013.80, which was
the previous session's late New York quote.

 * London afternoon gold fix XAUFIX= was at $1,010.25 an
ounce.

 SILVER

 * December silver SIZ9 down 33.5 cents, or 1.9 percent,
at $16.780 an ounce, tracking gold's decline.

 * Range from $16.720 to $17.290.

 * COMEX estimated 10 a.m. volume at 11,721 lots.

 * Spot silver XAG= was at $16.74 versus its previous
finish of 17.10 an ounce.

 * London silver fix XAGFIX= at $17.10 an ounce.

 PLATINUM

 * October platinum PLV9 down $13.70, or 1 percent, at
$1,325.50 an ounce, following general weakness of metals across
the board.

 * Spot platinum XPT= was at $1,319.50 compared with its
previous finish of $1,332.

 PALLADIUM

 * December palladium PAZ9 down $5.20, or 1.7 percent, at
$297.20 an ounce, down with platinum.

 * Spot palladium XPD= was at $295 against its previous
close of $300.
Prices at 10:45 a.m. EDT (1445 GMT)

                       Last  Change   Pct      2008   YTD

                                      Chg    Close  % Chg
US gold       GCZ9    1008.60   -6.90  -0.7   884.30   14.1
US silver     SIZ9     16.805  -0.310  -1.8   11.295   48.8
US platinum   PLV9    1327.00  -12.20  -0.9   941.50   40.9
US palladium  PAZ9     299.50   -2.90  -1.0   188.70   58.7
Gold          XAU=    1006.90   -6.90  -0.7   878.20   14.7
Silver        XAG=      16.76   -0.34  -2.0    11.30   48.3
Platinum      XPT=    1320.00  -12.00  -0.9   924.50   42.8
Palladium     XPD=     294.50   -5.50  -1.8   184.50   59.6
Gold Fix      XAUFIX= 1010.25   -4.50  -0.4   836.50   20.8
Silver Fix    XAGFIX=   17.10  -14.00  -0.8    14.76   15.9
Platinum Fix  XPTFIX= 1325.00    8.00   0.6  1529.00  -13.3
Palladium Fix XPDFIX=  299.00    2.00   0.7   365.00  -18.1
(Reporting by Frank Tang; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)