* Gold inches down in thin trade, physicals quiet
* Coming up: India May industrial output; 0630 GMT
* For the technical on gold, click []
(Updates prices, adds quotes)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, July 12 (Reuters) - Gold slipped on Monday as
physical buyers retreated and investors turned to equities
after bullion failed to sustain the previous session's rally
and ETF holdings dropped again.
The long-term outlook remained bullish on worries about the
debt crisis in Europe but gold will have to cross the 50-day
moving average to stay above the psychological level of $1,200
an ounce. Silver was steady, while platinum and palladium
eased.
Spot gold <XAU=> fell $3.15 to $1,208.70 an ounce by 0258
GMT after rising to a four-day high around $1,213 an ounce on
Friday, still well below a lifetime high of $1,264.90 struck in
late June.
For a graphic of the 24-hour gold technical outlook,
click:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/WT_20101207090446.jpg
"The market feels there's less direction. Even though we saw
some buying on Friday in a very thin market, the current price
is technically below the 50-day moving average," said Louis
Lok, a dealer at Bank of China in Hong Kong.
Bullion needed fresh impetus to entice players back, said
Lok, adding that economic data due out of the United States and
Europe later this week could provide some direction. <ECON>
"Maybe for today, we'll be kept in a range trade of $1,200 to
$1,218," he said.
U.S. gold futures for August delivery <GCQ0> hardly moved,
at $1,209.1 an ounce.
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR
Gold Trust <GLD.P>, said its holdings fell to 1,314.515 tonnes
by July 9 from 1,316.036 on July 8. The holdings hit a record
at 1,320.436 tonnes on June 29. []
Stock markets mostly rose across Asia, with the MSCI stock
index outside Japan <.MIAPJ0000PUS> up 0.3 percent as investors
waited for a string of U.S. corporate earnings out this week to
set the tone in markets. []
The Nikkei average <> climbed 0.5 percent, reversing a
0.5 percent loss at the open.
"I don't see much buying in gold at around $1,200. There's
some profit taking after prices rose to above $1,213 last
week," said a dealer in Hong Kong.
"The long-term outlook is still bullish, but the fall in
ETF is not good news for gold," he added.
Bullion has hit a record high on persistent worries about
the euro zone's financial sector and that the U.S. economy was
slowing.
The euro <EUR=> edged up to $1.2640 in slow Asian trade,
wih dealers eyeing how a Greek debt auction goes this week for
more direction on the single currency. The debt-laden country
plans to auction six-month treasury bills on July 13. []
U.S. crude oil futures stayed firm above $76 a barrel on
Monday as China's bigger-than-expected trade surplus in June
eased worries about a slowdown for the global economic recovery
and oil demand. []
Precious metals prices at 0258 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 1208.70 -3.15 -0.26 10.31
Spot Silver 18.07 0.01 +0.06 7.37
Spot Platinum 1524.00 -5.00 -0.33 3.89
Spot Palladium 455.75 -0.75 -0.16 12.39
TOCOM Gold 3474.00 55.00 +1.61 6.60
26250
TOCOM Platinum 4402.00 24.00 +0.55 0.48
7863
TOCOM Silver 52.50 0.90 +1.74 1.55
348
TOCOM Palladium 1316.00 36.00 +2.81 12.96
146
Euro/Dollar 1.2596
Dollar/Yen 89.10
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
