CHICAGO, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Gold futures on the COMEX Division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dropped sharply shortly before pit trading closed on Tuesday, catalyzed by falling oil. Silver and platinum both tumbled.

Graphics shows the prices of gold in the past 12 months. Gold price for February delivery fell 1.9 percent to 1129.40 U.S. dollars an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange Jan. 12, 2010. (Xinhua/Chen Chen) Photo Gallery>>>

    The most active gold contract for February delivery lost 22 U.S. dollars, or 1.9 percent, to finish at 1,129.40 dollars an ounce.

    Dollar kept steady during the day session after recovering overnight as investors shied away from more risky assets amid concerns about tighter monetary policy in China and disappointing corporate results.

    Chinese central bank announced on Tuesday plans to raise reserve requirements for banks by 0.5 percent as of next week. Analysts worried the move is a sign that Chinese policy makers may tighten its monetary policies as the global economy recovers.

    A report showed on Monday that Chinese exports jumped 17.7 percent in December from the previous month.

    Some analysts said the plummeting oil in the late session helped the precious metal dip quickly about one hour ahead of the floor trading closed, when the benchmark oil contract in New York lost more than 1 dollar a barrel.

    March silver was down 44 cents to 18.255 dollars per ounce. April platinum fell 13.90 dollars to 1,578.60 dollars an ounce.