* Economic jitters support investment in bullion
* Coming up: U.S. weekly jobless claims 1230 GMT
(Updates prices)
By Jan Harvey
LONDON, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Gold held near $1,230 an ounce on
Thursday as concerns over economic growth supported prices near
the last session's near seven-week high, with investors awaiting
U.S. data due later in the day for fresh direction.
Spot gold <XAU=> was bid at $1,228.60 an ounce at 1049 GMT,
against $1,227.55 late in New York on Wednesday. U.S. gold
futures for December delivery <GCZ0> fell 60 cents to $1,230.80.
The precious metal rose as high as $1,232.35 an ounce on
Wednesday, its strongest since July 1, and has climbed more than
1 percent so far this week.
While prices remain well supported, traders expect few
significant moves ahead of a raft of economic data later in the
day, including weekly jobless numbers at 1230 GMT and the
Philadelphia Fed business activity index for August at 1400 GMT.
"Ahead of the initial jobless claim and any other surprises,
I would think (we will see) a trading range of $1,228-$1,235 for
the time being," said Afshin Nabavi, head of trading at MKS
Finance in Geneva.
Fresh signs of weakness could hurt assets more exposed to
the economic cycle, like equities and industrial commodities,
and lift so-called safer investments like gold, analysts said.
Better appetite for bullion from investors was reflected in
a rise in holdings of the world's largest gold exchange-traded
fund.
New York's SPDR Gold Trust <GLD> said its holdings rose just
under 1 tonne to 1,295.516 tonnes, their highest since July 27,
on Wednesday. []
ETF Securities, which said in a weekly report on Thursday
that inflows into its physically backed gold products had hit a
13-week high, attributed gold ETF buying to economic concerns.
"The renewed interest in gold in particular indicates
investors are again turning defensive about the economic
outlook," it said.
"Softer economic data continues to impact confidence about
the sustainability of the global recovery, fuelling inflows into
the precious metals sector."
FURTHER GAINS SEEN
The technical outlook for gold is also looking more positive
after the metal's recent gains, analysts said, although strong
pockets of resistance remain.
"Having broken through daily cloud resistance earlier in the
week, a retracement level at $1,242 could be tough to break in
the near term," said Barclays Capital in a note.
"Nevertheless, consolidation above $1,190 is bullish,
and we continue to expect the cited resistance eventually to
give way and gold to test $1,350 later in the year."
The dollar firmed 0.2 percent against the euro <EUR=>, and
European shares rose after Germany's Bundesbank said the
country's economy will grow by 3 percent this year against a
previous forecast of almost 2 percent. [] []
Among other commodities, oil rose towards $76 on Thursday,
boosted by a rally in some equity markets in Asia and Europe on
expectations of strong Chinese demand. []
Bunds edged lower as equities looked stronger, although
fears over the health of the global economy were seen continuing
to dominate sentiment, supporting demand for core government
debt. []
Silver <XAG=> was bid at $18.41 an ounce against $18.32,
while platinum <XPT=> was at $1,531.20 an ounce versus $1,527
and palladium <XPD=> was at $486 against $486.50.
(Reporting by Jan Harvey; Editing by Sue Thomas)
