* Dollar rises 1 pct vs euro after ECB comments
* Jitters over growth support safe-haven bid for gold
* Euro-priced gold reaches highest in 1-1/2 months
* Platinum-gold ratio slips to lowest since end June
(Updates prices, adds detail, comment)
By Jan Harvey
LONDON, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Gold slid below $1,230 an ounce
on Friday as the dollar strengthened, but concerns over the
outlook for the global economy and the stability of the currency
markets firmly underpinned interest in the metal as a haven.
Spot gold <XAU=> was bid at $1,225.25 an ounce at 1344 GMT,
against $1,230.10 late in New York on Thursday. U.S. gold
futures for December delivery <GCZ0> eased $8.40 to $1,227.00.
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,
surrendering further ground on Friday as the dollar rose to a
one-month high against the euro.
The single currency fell after European Central Bank
Governing Council member Axel Weber said the ECB should extend
unlimited liquidity to banks past the end of the year. []
But lingering concerns that U.S. growth will be sluggish and
the dollar weak are continuing to support gold, and analysts
said fresh concerns over European growth and the strength of the
euro are only adding to the metal's safe-haven appeal.
"Two currencies are doing badly now," said Commerzbank
senior trader Michael Kempinski. "Gold should profit from that,
in the mid- to long-term anyway."
Strength in the dollar typically weighs on gold, as it curbs
the metal's appeal as an alternative investment and makes dollar
priced assets more expensive for holders of other currencies.
However, gold can break its usual link with the dollar in
times of extreme risk aversion, as was seen earlier this year
during the euro zone sovereign debt crisis centred on Greece.
Gold priced in euros <XAUEUR=R> benefited from the single
currency's slip, rising nearly 1 percent to a 1-1/2 month high
at 969.74 euros an ounce. It was later at 967.15 euros an ounce
against 959.59 euros late on Thursday.
On the wider markets, European stocks fell and were on track
to end lower for a second straight week, as traders worried
about the effects a slowdown in economic growth will have on
corporate earnings. []
ETF INFLOWS CONTINUE
Rising investment appetite for gold saw fresh inflows into
the world's largest gold exchange-traded fund, the SPDR Gold
Trust <GLD>. Its 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>
Silver <XAG=> fell to $18.02 an ounce from $18.24, while
platinum <XPT=> eased to $1,513 an ounce from $1,520.50 and
palladium <XPD=> to $473.55 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.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Graphic showing the relative price performance of gold and
platinum this year, click on:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/gfx1/LWP_20102008165912.jpg
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
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.
(Editing by Sue Thomas)
