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LONDON, Oct 11 (Reuters) Gold slipped on Wednesday after gaining overnight and platinum touched a six-month low before marginally recovering, as weak oil prices dampened buying spirit, dealers said.

Spot gold hit an intraday high of $575.20 and a low of $570 before settling at $572.40/573.40 by 1143 GMT, against $573.70/574.70 late in New York on Tuesday.

''The market is a bit confused at this stage. North Korea certainly triggered some reaction but that met with selling,'' said Frederic Panizzutti, analyst at MKS Finance.

''The bulls are not sure if this is the right level to enter the market for a move back towards $600 and the bears are not sure if this is the right level for a move to $550. For the time being, we expect gold to remain in a range.'' Worries that North Korea would conduct a second nuclear test kept nerves on edge on Wednesday as Japan, facing Chinese and Russian reservations about the scope of U.N. sanctions, pressed for a stern response to Pyongyang.

Ignoring U.N. warnings, North Korea announced on Monday that it had conducted its first nuclear test. It said a U.S. ''threat of nuclear war and sanctions'' forced its hand.

''The current dispute between the U.N. and North Korea about their nuclear test should not have a massive impact on the energy market. However, it could bring the current discussion between the UN and the Iran back to centre stage,'' Dresdner Kleinwort said in a note.

Gold is often seen as a safe-haven asset in difficult times.

NORTH KOREA Dealers said they were watching developments in North Korea, currencies and oil markets for direction, but the metal lacked upside impetus, having failed to stay above $580.

Oil steadied after falling below $58 a barrel, as OPEC haggled over the details of an output cut and the West's energy watchdog cut its oil demand growth forecast. Weaker oil prices lower gold's appeal as a hedge against inflation.

''There's spot-related selling because of a weaker oil price.

It looks like physical buyers and speculators are on the sidelines now,'' said a dealer in Hong Kong.

''There's a still chance for us to go to $585 but that all depends on the OPEC decision,'' he said.

In other precious metals, platinum fell to its lowest since early April at $1,060 an ounce, tracking fund selling in Japan.

It was quoted at $1,063/1,068 late in New York.

Palladium fell $1 to $297/302 an ounce, while silver inched down to $11.12/11.18 an ounce from $11.14/11.21.

In industry news, StreetTRACKS Gold Shares, the world's largest gold exchange-traded fund, started trading on the Singapore Exchange in a move to attract more investors into the bullion market.

REUTERS PKS DB2059