* Gold down on weak euro, falling stocks
* ETF holdings hit new record
* Investors await ECB rate meeting, which could pressure
euro
(Updates prices)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Gold slipped on Thursday,
matching a 1-month low hit the previous day, due to a weaker
euro and falling stock markets, but a rise in ETF holdings to a
new record suggested bullion still finds favour among
investors.
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the
SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, said it held 790.66 tonnes of gold on
Jan. 14, up 3.06 tonnesfrom 787.60 tonnes on Jan. 9, with poor
prospects for the global economy igniting demand for bullion as
a safe-haven asset. []
Gold <XAU=> was trading at $809.05 an ounce, down $1.50
from New York's notional close. It matched Wednesday's
one-month low of $806.40, partly driven by weak stock markets
that forced investors to cash in.
"Physical buying has recovered a bit. But there's still
some pressure related to currencies right now. The U.S. dollar
is quite strong. That's why the funds still continue to sell,"
said Dick Poon, manager of precious metals at Heraus Ltd in
Hong Kong.
"Gold still holds around the $800 level, which I think is
related to the ETF and physical buying," said Poon, referring
to buying ahead of the Lunar New Year later this month.
Gold was around 9 percent below an 11-week high of $889.55
struck in late December but dealers saw buying on dips by
jewellers in Asia ahead of the Chinese New Year festive season.
The euro barely moved at $1.3190 <EUR=> on Thursday, having
hit a one-month low of $1.3093 on EBS the previous day, after
ratings agency Standard & Poor's cut Greece's sovereign debt
rating, heightening fears over the euro zone economy. []
Japan's Nikkei average fell 4.1 percent after U.S. stocks
dropped to six-week lows on worries about a deepening recession
and Japanese machinery orders fell a record 16.2 percent in
November from the previous month. []
Looking ahead, bullion trading would be volatile, with
declines in oil and shares and firm dollar likely to spur
selling, dealers said.
"Gold in ETF is still relatively strong. But the only thing
I would say, mainly the U.S. dollar affects the price at the
moment," said David Moore, commodity strategist at Commonwealth
Bank of Australia in Sydney.
"I think a lot of people have been expecting gold to go
higher because of the sort of safe-haven demand but reality is
that's been very inconsistent so far."
U.S. crude futures steadied on Thursday after dipping
overnight, when prices were pressured by rising inventories and
slumping demand in top consumer the United States. []
Platinum <XPT=> was trading at $910.00 an ounce, down $2.50
from New York notional close. New York gold futures <GCZ9>
added $1.3 an ounce to $810.1 in electronic trade.
Precious metals prices at 0152 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 809.05 -1.50 -0.19 -2.84
Spot Silver 10.51 -0.03 -0.28 -28.84
Spot Platinum 910.00 -23.00 -2.47 -40.13
Spot Palladium 178.00 -2.50 -1.39 -51.63
TOCOM Gold 2330.00 -70.00 -2.92 -23.86
21835
TOCOM Platinum 2617.00 -170.00 -6.10 -50.98
9542
TOCOM Silver 299.20 -12.90 -4.13 -44.70
201
TOCOM Palladium 519.00 -31.00 -5.64 -61.58
124
Euro/Dollar 1.3165
Dollar/Yen 89.13
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
