* Gold ETF holdings up 1.6 pct; iShares holdings down
* Gold bearish target at $1,322 - technicals
* Coming up: EZ Markit Mfg flash PMI, Jan; 0858 GMT
(Updates prices)
By Rujun Shen
SINGAPORE, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Spot gold prices firmed on
Monday, regaining some lost ground after falling for two
consecutive days, while holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust rose for
the first time in two weeks as some investors enter the market
eyeing further price gains.
The euro rose to its highest in more than two months on
Monday, after upbeat data from Germany showed business sentiment
rose to its highest in 20 years on the back of a manufacturing
sector now fully recovered from the 2008 financial
crisis.
The improved economic outlook over the past weeks has dimmed
gold's appeal as safe-haven investment, but concerns about
inflation may continue to support, analysts said.
"The market is watching the risk appetite revolving around
the euro. With that risk appetite increasing, that takes away
some of the safe-haven support in gold," said Mark Pervan, an
ANZ analyst.
"But that's passing to some degree, once the support from
European data has sort of been processed. The market is now
swinging back to looking at the slightly weak U.S. dollar and
that might spur some support."
Spot gold rose by 0.7 percent to $1,351.25 an ounce
by 0656 GMT, after dropping to a two-month low of $1,337.5 on
Friday.
It crossed above the 100-day moving average at $1,352.27
earlier, which was breached last week.
U.S. gold futures gained 0.7 percent to $1,350.2.
But a bearish target at $1,322 per ounce is unchanged for
spot gold , as a downtrend is steady and expected to
continue, said Reuters market analyst Wang Tao.
For a 24-hour gold technical outlook:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/WT/20112401092013.jpg
Gold flows from Hong Kong to mainland China in the first 11
months of 2010 nearly tripled from a year earlier to 107.722
tonnes, the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department said.
Holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust , the world's largest
gold-backed exchange-traded fund, jumped 1.6 percent to
1,271.769 tonnes. It was the first rise in about two weeks, and
biggest rise in more than seven months.
The holdings increase signals the return of interest from
some investors, who saw the $1,340 level a solid support and
expected gold prices to further rise in an improving economy.
"You've got the old usual factors, such as inflation, which
is globally going up. We are at the beginning of a recovery,
what will happen if the recovery is in full swing?" said Darren
Heathcote, head of trading at Investec Australia.
Fears about inflation spurred a slide in Asian equities
since the start of 2011, but the decline seen as a paring of
exposure to economies seen with the most to lose.
Speculative net long positions in U.S. gold futures fell to
164,993 by Jan 18, from 177,372 a week earlier, the U.S.
Commodity Futures Trading Commission said.
Holdings in the iShares Silver Trust , the world's
largest physically backed exchange-traded fund, fell 1.3 percent
to 10,394.53 tonnes, its lowest since early November.
Spot silver rose by 1.4 percent to $27.85 an ounce,
recovering from a three-day losing streak that took the metal to
$27.10 on Friday, its lowest since end of November.
Platinum group metals, used widely in industrial
applications, held up better than gold or silver. Spot platinum
edged down 0.1 percent to $1,821.85 an ounce, up three
percent so far this year, compared with a five-percent decline
in gold and ten-percent slide in silver.
Spot palladium rose to an intra-day high of $825,
just a tab lower than $825.50, its highest since March 2001 hit
last week.
Precious metals prices 0656 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover
Spot Gold 1351.25 9.00 +0.67 -4.80
Spot Silver 27.85 0.38 +1.38 -9.75
Spot Platinum 1821.85 -2.15 -0.12 3.07
Spot Palladium 823.08 3.33 +0.41 2.95
TOCOM Gold 3613.00 10.00 +0.28 -3.11 53905
TOCOM Platinum 4907.00 40.00 +0.82 4.49 10799
TOCOM Silver 74.40 1.90 +2.62 -8.15 1725
TOCOM Palladium 2203.00 53.00 +2.47 5.05 675
Euro/Dollar 1.3598
Dollar/Yen 82.81
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Ed Lane)
Reuters
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