* Gold holds near New York level but upward momentum weak
* SPDR Gold holdings <XAUEXT-NYS-TT> unchanged
By Miho Yoshikawa
TOKYO, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Gold eased on Tuesday from a
seven-week high marked in New York the previous day as waning
investor appetite for the precious metal capped gains despite
the dollar remaining close to this year's low.
Bullion rose to $962.10 an ounce in New York on Monday, its
highest since June 10, boosted by a weaker dollar, which lost
some of its safe-haven appeal in the face of a rally on Wall
Street and encouraging economic data.
Kazuhiko Saito, chief analyst at Tokyo's Fujitomi Co Ltd,
said that while a weaker dollar was continuing to lend support
to gold, the precious metal was showing signs of being top
heavy.
"Gold has lost some of its appeal as a safe haven ... and
it's no longer such an attractive investment instrument," he
said.
Investment money was shifting out of gold, he said, which
was underscored by a decline in holdings in gold-backed
exchange-traded funds, which have been mostly on a downtrend
since June.
Traders have said gold may face strong resistance at $960, a
level the market has failed to hold above since early June.
[]
Gold <XAU=> stood at $954.00 an ounce at 0600 GMT, down 0.02
percent from New York's notional close of $955.55.
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the
SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, said holdings stood at 1,072.87 tonnes as
of Aug. 3, unchanged since July 29. []
Holdings have declined over 5 percent since hitting a record
of 1,134.03 tonnes on June 1.
U.S. gold futures for December delivery <GCZ9> also eased
0.2 percent to $954.70.
The dollar traded close to its lowest level this year
against a basket of currencies on Tuesday after bullish global
stocks and upbeat economic data from around the world raised
hopes for an economic recovery and increased investor
risk-appetite. []
U.S. stocks rose on Monday, pushing the S&P 500 index above
1,000 for the first time in nine months, as manufacturing sector
data underscored optimism that the economy was recovering.
[]
The rally extended to Tokyo with the Nikkei average <>
rising to its highest point in 10 months on Tuesday. []
Platinum <XPT=> held close to New York's closing level on
Monday of $1,232.50 per ounce, helped in part by the robust
performance of industrial metals.
Saito added, however, that platinum's prospects were not as
bright as those of many other industrial metals as demand for
platinum was likely to fall as electric cars and other
environmentally friendly vehicles are launched.
These zero-emission cars do not need autocatalysts to clean
exhaust fumes, which account for more than 50 percent of global
platinum demand. Platinum is also used in jewellery, an area
where demand is also weak.
PRICES
Precious metals prices at 0606 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover
Spot Gold 954.35 -1.20 -0.13 8.43
Spot Silver 14.18 -0.03 -0.21 25.27
Spot Platinum 1227.00 -5.50 -0.45 31.65
Spot Palladium 271.00 1.50 +0.56 46.88
TOCOM Gold 2927.00 22.00 +0.76 13.76 37264
TOCOM Platinum 3763.00 90.00 +2.45 41.89 18113
TOCOM Silver 432.60 4.60 +1.07 35.48 278
TOCOM Palladium 834.00 29.00 +3.60 51.64 650
Euro/Dollar 1.4388
Dollar/Yen 95.08
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 Chikako Mogi; Editing by Joseph
Radford)
