* Wednesday's New York rally partly technical driven
* SPDR Gold holdings <XAUEXT-NYS-TT> up 0.1 pct on Wed
By Risa Maeda
TOKYO, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Gold steadied on Thursday after a
round of light profit taking by regional traders, a day after a
rally in New York briefly sent the metal above $980 an ounce, up
over $20 from late Asian trade the previous day.
But activity was slow as investors kept their eyes on equity
and other financial markets ahead of the G20 meeting of finance
ministers in London later this week, in which the agenda includes
ways to make the global financial system more stable.
[]
Spot gold <XAU=> was at $976.75 an ounce at 0603 GMT, up 0.02
percent from New York's notional close of $976.60 on Wednesday,
when it hit a three-month high of $980.10.
The main driver for gold's overnight gains was safe-haven
demand as investors sought refuge from global equities losses and
financial market uncertainty.
Wednesday's U.S. labour-market report showing more
private-sector job losses in August than forecast made investors
nervous ahead of Friday's highly anticipated monthly jobs data
from the U.S. Labour Department. []
Reflecting such demand, bullion holdings by the world's
largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund rose on Wednesday for
the first time in almost two weeks.
But gold's sudden jump in New York was partly due to
technical loss-cut unwinding of short gold futures positions
after bullion decisively broke above the recent ceiling of $960,
traders said.
U.S. gold futures for December delivery <GCZ9> were at
$978.80 up 0.03 percent after rising $22, or 2.3 percent, to
$978.50 on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange
on Wednesday.
Kaname Gokon, deputy general manager in Okato Shoji Co's
research section said that it was only regional players entering
the market.
"After the aggressive buying on the COMEX yesterday, most
speculative positions have turned to neutral. I would call it the
last technical-led rally at the end of the summer," he said,
referring to the Labor Day holiday in the United States on
Monday, which typically marks the end of summer holiday season.
Some traders said gold could test the $1,000 mark in the near
future if and when inflation concerns return.
Gold had been rising along with the stock markets as economic
optimism bolstered bullion's appeal as an inflation hedge.
Central banks of major economies kept their grip loose on
liquidity to maintain stability in the global banking system, a
factor always supportive for gold, said Ronald Leung, a director
of Lee Cheng Gold Dealers in Hong Kong.
"If we can break through $985 and can hold there, then we'll
see $1,000 very soon," Leung said. "Otherwise, it'll be going
down a little bit," he said, adding that gold would be caught in
a range of between $955 and $985.
The SPDR Gold Trust <GLD> said on Thursday the holdings rose
1.53 tonnes or 0.1 percent on Sept. 2, marking the first rise
since Aug. 21, when they climbed 0.92 tonnes. []
Asian stock markets were mostly higher on Thursday, with
China's key Shanghai Composite Index <> gaining more than 4
percent. []
Precious metals prices at 0605 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover
Spot Gold 976.65 0.05 +0.01 10.96
Spot Silver 15.45 0.11 +0.72 36.48
Spot Platinum 1234.50 5.50 +0.45 32.46
Spot Palladium 285.50 1.00 +0.35 54.74
TOCOM Gold 2911.00 48.00 +1.68 13.14 49425
TOCOM Platinum 3687.00 32.00 +0.88 39.03 17058
TOCOM Silver 459.20 12.60 +2.82 43.81 370
TOCOM Palladium 854.00 -1.00 -0.12 55.27 374
Euro/Dollar 1.4280
Dollar/Yen 92.41
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Additional reporting by Miho Yoshikawa; Editing by Joseph
Radford)
