* Jitters over growth support safe-haven bid for gold
* Dollar awaits direction after soft data
* Platinum-gold ratio slips to lowest since end June
(Updates throughout, changes dateline from SINGAPORE)
By Jan Harvey
LONDON, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Gold held above $1,230 an ounce
in Europe on Friday as concern over the outlook for the global
economy supported interest in the metal as a haven from risk,
but gains were capped by fresh strength in the dollar.
Spot gold <XAU=> was bid at $1,230.45 an ounce at 0926 GMT,
against $1,230.10 late in New York on Thursday. U.S. gold
futures for December delivery <GCZ0> eased $2.80 to $1,232.60.
The precious metal rose to a peak of $1,237.15 an ounce on
Thursday after weak U.S. jobless and manufacturing data knocked
the dollar and boosted interest in assets seen as lower risk. It
later pared those gains as the U.S. currency recovered.
But lingering concerns that U.S. growth will be sluggish is
continuing to support gold, analysts said.
"The glaring difference between the U.S. economy and the
rest of world and the fear of a probable second round of
economic recession has been serving as fodder to the bulls,"
said Pradeep Unni, senior analyst at Richcomm Global Services.
"Technically and from a momentum perspective the trend on
gold remains up, but this rising trend may succumb to profit
taking if the equity markets witness a sell-off."
"However, such dips are likely to be used as fresh buying
opportunities, given the increasing concern about the fate of
fiat currencies," he added.
The dollar rose against the euro <EUR=>, with the single
currency knocked by comments from European Central Bank
Governing Council member Axel Weber, who was quoted as saying
the central bank should extend unlimited liquidity to banks past
the end of the year. []
Gold typically moves in the opposite direction to the
dollar, as strength in the U.S. unit curbs the metal's appeal as
an alternative asset and makes dollar-priced commodities more
expensive for holders of other currencies.
On the wider markets, European stocks fell in early trade,
down for the third straight day and tracking U.S. and Asian
losses, after poor U.S. data brought fears of a double-dip
recession back to the forefront of investors' minds. []
ETF INFLOWS CONTINUE
Such fears also led to fresh inflows into the world's
largest gold exchange-traded fund, New York's SPDR Gold Trust
<GLD>. The trust's holdings rose nearly 4 tonnes to 1,299.468
tonnes on Thursday, their highest since July 27. []
On the physical markets, buying continued in India, the
biggest global consumer of the precious metal, ahead of a raft
of festivals, while a strong baht helped Thai consumers defy a
rise in gold prices, dealers said on Friday. []
Demand for physical gold, especially Asia, usually tails off
as prices rise.
Meanwhile, dealers in Singapore reported limited stocks
after aggressive purchases by Chinese consumers in early August
following Beijing's move to allow more banks to import and
export gold. <GOLD/ASIA1>
Among other precious metals, silver <XAG=> was little
changed at $18.25 an ounce against $18.24, while platinum <XPT=>
eased to $1,510.60 an ounce from $1,520.50 and palladium <XPD=>
to $480.50 from $481.
The platinum group metals, which are chiefly used in
autocatalyst manufacturing, have failed to track gains in gold,
as industrial commodities suffer from concerns over growth.
The platinum-gold ratio -- or the number of ounces of gold
needed to buy an ounce of platinum -- fell to its lowest since
the end of June at 1.23 on Friday, as gold prices outperformed
platinum.
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For a graphic showing the relative price performance of gold
and platinum this year, click on:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/gfx1/LWP_20102008165912.jpg
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(Reporting by Jan Harvey; Editing by Alison Birrane)
