* Gold inches down in thin trade, physicals quiet
* Coming up: India May industrial output; 0630 GMT
* For the technical on gold, click []
(Updates prices, activity in physical sector)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, July 12 (Reuters) - Gold slipped on Monday as
physical buyers retreated, investors turned to equities and ETF
holdings dropped again.
While the long-term outlook remains bullish on worries
about the debt crisis in Europe, 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 $3.10 to $1,208.75 an ounce by 0546
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.
"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.
For a graphic of the 24-hour gold technical outlook,
click:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/WT_20101207090446.jpg
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.
[]
"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> were hardly
moved at $1,209.1 an ounce.
"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.
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. []
The physical sector lacked activity, with dealers focusing
on deliveries to customers after strong sales last week.
"I can see the demand sliding back a little. We are just
delivering the odd ends that clients logged in last week," said
a physical dealer in Singapore.
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 euro <EUR=> edged down in slow Asian trade, wih dealers
eyeing Greek debt auction this week for more direction on the
single currency. The debt-laden country plans to auction
six-month treasury bills on July 13. []
Greece's debt problems and fears of the impact on the euro
zone's financial sector had been a key factor behind bullion's
drive to a record high.
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 0546 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 1208.75 -3.10 -0.26 10.32
Spot Silver 18.06 0.00 +0.00 7.31
Spot Platinum 1522.00 -7.00 -0.46 3.75
Spot Palladium 455.23 -1.27 -0.28 12.26
TOCOM Gold 3468.00 49.00 +1.43 6.41
31493
TOCOM Platinum 4391.00 13.00 +0.30 0.23
10845
TOCOM Silver 52.20 0.60 +1.16 0.97
365
TOCOM Palladium 1312.00 32.00 +2.50 12.62
229
Euro/Dollar 1.2595
Dollar/Yen 88.94
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Michael Urquhart)
