Platinum and palladium futures closed higher, helped by the dollar's moderate rebound against the yen and a perception that prices have confirmed a near-term floor, they said.

Gold futures ranged from six to 15 yen per gram lower. Benchmark October ended off 10 yen at 1,066 yen.

"Tocom gold was depressed by weakness in spot market prices and strong expectations for the yen's upswing," one brokerage analyst said. "The October contract is expected to test the record low for Tocom benchmark gold of 1,022 yen if the yen advances towards 110 yen to the dollar."

Spot gold was quoted at $289.10/60 an ounce at 0648 GMT, against Tuesday's New York close of $288.70/289.20.

Traders said there were few incentives to buy gold as stability has returned to the global equity and currency markets.

AlthoughJapanese investors continued to show healthy appetite for gold bars, their purchases are unlikely to boost gold prices as Japanese demand accounts for only a portion of global gold demand, they said.

According to Gold Fields Mineral Services, gold bar hoarding demand in Japan amounted to 35.3 tonnes in 1997, against global gold demand of 4,254 tonnes.

Japanese bullion house Tanaka Kikinzoku Kogyo said on Wednesday that Japanese retail sales of gold bars in October nearly tripled from September and platinum bars sales more than tripled as low yen-based prices stirred investor buying.

The amount of gold bars sold in October through Tanaka's nationwide retail network surged 195 percent from the previous month and 298 percent from last year, the company said.

Retail sales of platinum bars in October soared 241 per cent month-on-month and 587 percent year-on-year, Tanaka said.

Tanaka declined to reveal the metals' actual sales volume.

Silver futures ranged from 1.0 yen per 10 grams higher to 4.0 yendown. Benchmark October ended up 0.1 yen at 180.7 yen.

Platinum futures ranged from seven to 23 yen per gram higher. Benchmark October ended up 17 yen at 1,232 yen.

Traders attributed the gains to arbitrageur buying and investor short-covering stimulated by a perception that the market has confirmed a near-term floor.

But they did not expect a full-fledged recovery in platinum due to worries about the dollar's downside risk and a prolonged economic slump in Japan, the world's biggest platinum user.

Palladium futures pared early losses to close higher, led by gains in platinum futures, traders said.

Prices ranged from two to 10 yen per gram higher. Benchmark October ended up four yen at 934 yen.