UPDATE 2-Gold steady near 1-week high, weak stocks weigh

* Gold holds near 1-week high on bargain buying

* Nikkei posts biggest one-day loss in a month

* Oil below $53 a barrel

* Premiums for gold bars steady in Asia
(Updates prices)

By Lewa Pardomuan

SINGAPORE, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Gold was steady near its
strongest level in more than a week on Thursday, as bargain
hunting from investors and jewellers in Asia helped the metal
defy selling pressure from weak oil prices and slumping
equities.

Recent gains in the yen against the U.S. dollar spurred
buying from speculators in Japan, while physical demand kept
premiums for gold bars steady in Singapore, Hong Kong and Tokyo
<GOLD/ASIA1>.

Gold <XAU=> was trading at $737.80 an ounce, up $5.40 from
late New York levels on Wednesday, when it hit an intraday high
of $762.30 an ounce due to early gains in oil.

"I think people in Asia are happy to buy at below $750.
People are happy to buy at these levels because they still
think the banking sector is not safe," said Ronald Leung,
director of Lee Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong.

"Even though governments say they will guarantee savings,
people are shifting some money from banks to buy physical
(gold)," he said.

Gold is struggling to sustain an uptrend since hitting a
two-month high of $931 in early October as sell-off in equities
forced some investors to cash in on bullion to cover losses.

A rout in Asia pushed world stocks to their lowest in 5-½
years on Thursday, while oil dropped to below $53 a barrel and
government bonds surged as economic data indicated a global
recession could get even uglier. [MKTS/GLOB]

Gold was well below a lifetime high of $1,030.80 struck in
March but dealers said falling prices also attracted buying.

The World Gold Council said global demand for gold jumped
18 percent year-over-year to 1,133.4 tonnes in the third
quarter, reversing a weaker trend earlier this year, because of
strong buying by investors and a lower gold price.
[ID:nN18273690]

"I guess gold and platinum are relatively cheap for people
in Japan because of recent gains in the yen against the
dollar," said a dealer in Tokyo. "Some people have also sold
their gold bars to buy platinum because the price has dropped
so much."

Premiums for gold bars were steady at $2.5 to $3 an ounce
to the spot London prices in Tokyo, and dealers said demand in
main consumer India was steady during the marriage season, when
parents give gold to their daughters for financial security.
[GOL/IN]

Platinum <XPT=> was trading at $790.00 an ounce, down
$18.50 from New York's notional close. The price has dropped
more than 60 percent since spiking to a record of $2,290 in
March to track lower gold, and lately due to tumbling car
sales.

The dollar was hardly changed at 95.75 yen <JPY=> but
dealers said the U.S. currency might be vulnerable, due to
concerns about U.S. corporate earnings and expectations the
Federal Reserve would cut interest rates again next month.
[USD/]

New York gold futures GCZ8 added $2.2 an ounce to
$738.2.
Precious metals prices at 0630 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 737.60 4.75 +0.65 -11.42
Spot Silver 9.25 0.04 +0.43 -37.37
Spot Platinum 790.00 -18.50 -2.29 -48.03
Spot Palladium 183.00 2.50 +1.39 -50.27
TOCOM Gold 2250.00 -54.00 -2.34 -26.47
36336
TOCOM Platinum 2434.00 -205.00 -7.77 -54.41
19463
TOCOM Silver 283.00 -15.20 -5.10 -47.69
997
TOCOM Palladium 600.00 -80.00 -11.76 -55.59
232
Euro/Dollar 1.2490
Dollar/Yen 95.11
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Clarence Fernandez)