Gold extended losses on Wednesday as it tracked weaker crude oil and dealers shrugged off a coup in Thailand, one of Southeast Asia's main bullion consumers.

Spot gold dropped to as low as $572.30 an ounce -- not far above a near three-month low of $571.20 an ounce hit on Friday -- and was quoted at $574.00/574.75 an ounce by 0410 GMT.

That was lower than $576.70/578.20 late in New York on Tuesday, when it had fallen more than 1 percent on fund selling.

"If it starts breaking down to about $560 ... if it breaks down through there, that's probably just another nail in the coffin," said commodities analyst Tobin Gorey of Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney.

"The Thai issue is not going to be enough to outweigh a big drop in oil prices," he said.

The physical sector saw some buying interest in parts of Asia as the price stayed below $580, but there were no signs of safe-haven buying from Thailand, where coup leaders ordered a government, bank and market holiday to help maintain calm.

Thailand's army chief vowed to clean up the country's political landscape and return "power to the people" as soon as possible after ousting Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

"It's a concern, but in terms of the geopolitical impact and the broader ramifications for the global economy that very high oil prices might have, it's less of a concern," said Gorey, referring to the coup.

Investors in Thailand have moved into gold in recent months because of the poor performance of the country's stock market and political uncertainty, dealers said.

The main Thai stock index <.SETI> has fallen 1.57 percent so far this year.

Gold is mainly used in jewelry and can be bought as a hedge against inflation and for future sales when holders need cash in times of trouble.

Benchmark gold futures <0#jau:> on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange dropped by the daily 60-yen limit to 2,188 yen per gram as weakness in the energy market triggered active selling by Japanese retail investors.

"I was told three months ago that the bull run will be over. I'm just wondering whether this is happening," said one dealer in Singapore. "It looks like the bull run in gold is only a spillover from rallies in base metals markets."

Gold has shed about 20 percent of its value since hitting a 26-year high of $730 an ounce in mid-May, when investors diversified into precious metals as a hedge against international tension and oil-fuelled inflationary concerns.

U.S. crude futures hovered near their lowest level in nearly six months below $62 a barrel, having dropped on Tuesday as analysts forecast another rise in U.S. motor fuel stocks ahead of weekly data from the Energy Information Administration.

The bullion market was likely to turn to currencies for direction ahead of an expected decision by the U.S. Federal Reserve to keep interest rates on hold for a second straight time at a policy meeting later on Wednesday.

"I think they're going to hold rates and then we'll see whether the U.S. economy is slowing down. We see some physical buying from Asia, but I don't know whether it's from Thailand," said a dealer in Hong Kong.

"It seems there's some buying interest below $580," he said.