* Disappointing U.S. jobless claims trigger safe-haven bid
* Gold ends up but off session highs as stock markets sink
* Coming up: Chicago Fed index due Monday
(Recasts, adds comment, updates prices to market close)
By Frank Tang
NEW YORK, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Gold rose on Thursday to its
highest price since July 1, rallying for a sixth day as
disappointing U.S. jobless claims data rekindled economic
fears, sent stock markets lower and prompted investors to buy
gold as a safe haven.
Silver and platinum group metals fell after data showed new
claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly climbed to a
nine-month high last week, and as the Philadelphia Federal
Reserve Bank said regional factory activity unexpectedly
contracted in August. []
"Whenever there is any uncertainty in the marketplace,
people tend to put their money in gold," said Jeff Pritchard,
trader at futures brokerage Altawest.
Gold initially rose toward $1,240 an ounce, but the rally
fizzled as losses in U.S. stocks deepened, prompting some
investors to sell gold to cover margin calls. The S&P 500 index
dropped about 1.5 percent.
Spot gold <XAU=> was at $1,231.15 an ounce at 3:11 p.m. EDT
(1911 GMT), up from $1,227.55 late in New York on Wednesday.
U.S. gold futures for December delivery <GCZ0> settled up $4 at
$1,235.40 in thin volume.
A six-day rally has gold just $30 below its all-time high
at $1,264.90 set on June 21. Traders cited strong physical
demand, which tends to rise in August as jewelers stockpile
inventory ahead of the wedding season in top consumer India.
Turnover in COMEX gold futures remained quiet in the summer
months, near a one-year low set on Tuesday, preliminary Reuters
data showed.
Bruce Dunn, vice president of trading at New Jersey-based
Auramet Trading, said bullion's early gains were driven by
technical buying, but light trading volume suggested it did not
take many buyers for prices to rally.
The U.S. dollar fell against a basket of currencies after
the lackluster job data, but the dollar turned higher as
investor risk appetite fell.
Gold has been resuming its traditional inverse correlation
with the dollar and a positive link with the euro, analysts
said, but the link remained erratic as the dollar and gold both
benefited from safe-haven flows at times.
The 25-day simple correlation between gold and the dollar
fell to a plus 0.1 on Thursday, sharply lower than a high of
near 0.9 earlier in August. (Graphic:
http://link.reuters.com/qyw95n )
ETF HOLDINGS RISE
Concerns over the prospect of sluggish growth have raised
investors' appetite for bullion as a haven from uncertainty in
wider markets. This has been reflected in a rise in holdings of
the world's largest gold exchange-traded fund.
New York's SPDR Gold Trust <GLD> said its holdings on
Wednesday rose just under 1 tonne to 1,295.516 tonnes, their
highest since July 27. []
ETF Securities, a London-based provider of exchange-traded
products backed by precious metals, said in a weekly report
that inflows into its physically backed gold products had hit a
13-week high.
Gold's technical outlook looked more positive, analysts
said, although strong pockets of resistance remain.
CitiFX strategists said spot gold could run into technical
resistance at $1,240, the 76 percent Fibonacci retracement
level. They said momentum divergence on monthly charts looked
similar to that seen in late 1974-early 1975 before a sharp
correction.
Among other precious metals, silver <XAG=> was at $18.28 an
ounce against $18.32, platinum <XPT=> was at $1,524.50 an ounce
versus $1,527 and palladium <XPD=> at $483 versus $486.50.
The ratio of platinum to gold -- or how many ounces of gold
were needed to buy an ounce of platinum -- fell to a 1-1/2
month low at 1.24 on Thursday, as the yellow metal's rise made
it comparatively more expensive.
Prices at 3:12 p.m. EDT (1912 GMT)
LAST/ NET PCT YTD
CLOSE CHG CHG CHG
US gold <GCZ0> 1235.40 4.00 0.3% 12.7%
US silver <SIU0> 18.327 -0.072 0.0% 8.8%
US platinum <PLV0> 1527.50 -9.00 -0.6% 3.8%
US palladium <PAU0> 485.65 -4.75 -1.0% 18.8%
Gold <XAU=> 1231.35 3.80 0.3% 12.3%
Silver <XAG=> 18.28 -0.04 -0.2% 8.6%
Platinum <XPT=> 1523.00 -4.00 -0.3% 3.9%
Palladium <XPD=> 483.00 -3.50 -0.7% 19.1%
Gold Fix <XAUFIX=> 1233.50 5.50 0.4% 11.7%
Silver Fix <XAGFIX=> 18.45 9.00 0.5% 8.6%
Platinum Fix <XPTFIX=> 1540.00 4.00 0.3% 5.0%
Palladium Fix <XPDFIX=> 494.00 5.00 1.0% 22.9%
(Additional reporting by Jan Harvey in London; Editing by
David Gregorio)
