* Focus on whether physical demand picks up after holidays
* SPDR Gold holdings unchanged since Feb 5
By Chikako Mogi
TOKYO, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Gold prices held steady above
$1,100 per ounce on Tuesday as investors remained risk averse on
concern about Greece's fiscal crisis, but trading was subdued
with many Asian players away for the Chinese new year.
There were few market participants in Asia as many markets
were closed for the Lunar New Year holiday, meaning price moves
were exaggerated, traders said.
"Gold prices are firmer in thin trade, with the price uptick
in part triggered by stops being hit around $1,103.00," said
Yuichi Ikemizu, Tokyo branch manager for Standard Bank.
"There is no particular reason for the market's firmness.
There was some indication of short positions being squeezed, but
it's very thin and prices are likely to stay firm given a lack of
sellers," he said.
Hong Kong and Singapore markets resume trading on Wednesday,
but markets in mainland China will be closed until next Monday.
Spot gold <XAU=> inched up 0.4 percent to $1,104.85 an ounce
as of 0234 GMT.
U.S. gold futures for April delivery <GCJ0> rose to $1,105.60
per ounce from London's Monday prices of around $1,100.00, and
were up 1.4 percent from Friday's New York levels.
U.S. markets were closed on Monday for Presidents Day.
Gold held near $1,100 an ounce on Monday, lifted by concerns
over the outlook for the currency market as traders wait to see
if a meeting of Eurogroup ministers will result in more support
for debt-laden Greece.
Gold priced in euros <XAUEUR=R> rose to a record high 812.98
euros an ounce on Tuesday. The previous record high was 812.43
euros an ounce set in early December.
The euro hovered near nine-month lows against the dollar on
Tuesday, as the outcome of a meeting of euro zone finance
ministers failed to instil confidence that Greece's debt problems
will be resolved quickly. []
Gold, which typically falls when the dollar strengthens
because a higher dollar makes dollar-denominated commodities
costlier for holders of other currencies, was resilient as
investors looked to bullion's appeal as a safe-haven asset.
Ikemizu said one near-term focus was on whether physical
buying will resume when participants return from holidays.
"When gold prices fell well below $1,100, we saw very strong
appetite from physical buyers in Asia who bought gold in large
volumes. We need to see if they regard the current levels as
reasonable," he said.
Investment flows were slow, with holdings at the world's
largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>,
unchanged at 1,106.378 tonnes as of Feb. 15. The holdings have
remained steady since Feb. 5. []
Among other market news, trading was lacklustre for the two
exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tracking futures contracts on the
Tokyo Commodity Exchange which debuted on the Osaka Securities
Exchange on Monday.
Total trading volume for Mizuho Gold ETF <1683.OS>, which
tracks TOCOM gold futures, was about 318,000 yen ($3,533) as of
0250 GMT, only about 7 percent of its trading volume on its
inaugural day.
Total volume for NF Platinum Index <1682.OS>, which tracks
TOCOM platinum futures and also listed on the OSE on Monday, was
about 2.2 mln yen ($24,440), about one-fifth of the volume for
its first trading day.
Precious metals prices at 0253 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover
Spot Gold 1103.75 3.25 +0.30 0.73
Spot Silver 15.66 0.14 +0.90 -6.95
Spot Platinum 1520.50 8.00 +0.53 3.65
Spot Palladium 422.50 4.00 +0.96 4.19
TOCOM Gold 3201.00 25.00 +0.79 -1.78 40419
TOCOM Platinum 4389.00 35.00 +0.80 0.18 7997
TOCOM Silver 46.00 0.50 +1.10 -11.03 432
TOCOM Palladium 1217.00 18.00 +1.50 4.46 176
Euro/Dollar 1.3623
Dollar/Yen 89.92
TOCOM prices in yen per gram.
(Editing by Hugh Lawson)
