* U.S. non-farm payrolls data awaited as New Year rally
halts
* SPDR Gold Trust holdings fall 0.4 pct on Wednesday
* Gold seen not hit by China signalling tighter liquidity
By Risa Maeda
TOKYO, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Gold slipped on Thursday after
reaching a three-week high above $1,140 per ounce the previous
day, weighed down by investors' caution ahead of U.S. non-farm
payrolls data for December due later this week.
A possible signal of tighter liquidity by China's central
bank was expected to affect gold less than industrial metals.
[]
"The impact of such news of tightening would be harsher on
industrial metals like copper," said Koichiro Kameim, managing
director at financial research firm Market Strategy Institute
in Tokyo.
"As for the gold market, the impact would be neutral.
Chinese demand in the precious metals would be hardly
affected," he said.
Economic indicators suggest the U.S. economy is recovering,
but employment is a key component for shaping the outlook for
U.S. interest rates and the dollar's direction.
Spot gold <XAU=> was at $1,132.80 an ounce by 0623 GMT,
down 0.5 percent from New York's notional close of $1,137.90.
U.S. gold futures for February delivery <GCG0> were at
$1,133.40 per ounce, down 0.3 percent.
Spot gold rose as high as $1,140.20 on Wednesday, up 4
percent since the start of the year, on fresh new year
investment flows, partly thanks to a rise in Asian currencies
against the dollar inspiring buying from the region, traders
said.
It is still well below a lifetime high of $1,226.10 struck
in early December.
"It's good to buy gold, oil and stocks as everything is up
since the start of the year," Ronald Leung, director of Lee
Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong, said, referring to the recent
rally in these asset classes.
Leung said gold could reach $1,500 this year as inflation
concerns encourage investor buying, while China's bright
economic outlook means demand from the region as a whole will
likely stay strong.
But he was cautious prior to U.S. Labour Department
non-farm payrolls data on Friday.
"If the U.S. employment is still improving, it's a good
sign for the recovery in demand and the economy. But if not,
they would pull back their money for now," he said.
The non-farm payrolls data is expected to shape
expectations for when the U.S. Federal Reserve will start
tightening its ultra-loose monetary policy, which could set the
direction of the dollar.
Wednesday's data on the U.S. private job market did little
to change expectations for the more comprehensive data.
[] Economists forecast the United States lost
8,000 jobs overall last month, fewer than 11,000 lost in
November.
In the currency market, the dollar was steady on Thursday
after falling the previous day when minutes from the Federal
Reserve's latest policy meeting suggested the possibility of
more stimulus measures for the economy. []
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR
Gold Trust <GLD>, said its holdings fell to 1,123.869 tonnes as
of Jan. 6, down 4.876 tonnes or 0.4 percent from the previous
business day. []
Among other precious metals, spot platinum <XPT=> was
little changed after matching Wednesday's high of $1,561 per
ounce, a 16-month high, on expectations of higher demand for
the metal.
The auto industry, which is expected to pick up this year,
accounts for more than half the consumption of platinum.
Also, the first platinum and palladium exchange-traded
funds proposed for the United States have cleared a major
hurdle with U.S. market regulators bringing the products.
[]
Analysts anticipated a rush of investment dollars into
platinum and palladium if the the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission gives its final nod.
Spot palladium <XPD=> rose as high as $428.50 per ounce,
its highest since July 2008, before trading down at $423.50.
Precious metals prices at 0627 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 1132.40 -5.50 -0.48 28.66
Spot Silver 18.09 -0.09 -0.50 59.81
Spot Platinum 1551.50 -3.50 -0.23 66.47
Spot Palladium 423.50 -2.50 -0.59 129.54
TOCOM Gold 3367.00 28.00 +0.84 30.86
79231
TOCOM Platinum 4612.00 60.00 +1.32 73.91
28980
TOCOM Silver 54.00 0.50 +0.93 -83.09
1426
TOCOM Palladium 1263.00 12.00 +0.96 129.64
802
Euro/Dollar 1.4374
Dollar/Yen 92.10
TOCOM prices in yen per gram and spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Additional reporting by Chikako Mogi; Editing by Clarence
Fernandez)
