* SPDR Gold holdings <GOL/SPDR> unchanged
* Noncommercial net longs in U.S. gold futures hit record
By Miho Yoshikawa
TOKYO, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Gold was little changed around
$1,050 per ounce on Monday, pressured by a firmer dollar, as the
precious metal took a breather and consolidated gains from last
week's rapid climb to historic levels.
Last Wednesday, spot gold <XAU=> soared to an all-time high
of $1,070.40 an ounce, while New York gold futures hit a record
peak of $1,072 as the greenback's weakness spurred buying of
gold, which became less expensive for holders of other
currencies.
The precious metal is also often bought as a hedge against a
depreciation in the U.S. currency.
"The dollar is recovering a touch against the euro, and that
is putting pressure on gold," said Kazuhiko Saito, chief analyst
at Tokyo's Fujitomi Co Ltd.
He said funds were shifting from gold to the crude oil and
stock markets, as the precious metal has lost some of its
attraction as an inflation hedge and a safe haven.
Gold was at $1,051.80 per ounce at 0601 GMT, up 0.1 percent
after earlier rising to $1,055.20.
U.S. gold futures for December delivery <GCZ9> were at
$1,052.10 per ounce, also up about 0.1 percent.
The euro backed off a 14-month high against the dollar and a
two-month high against the yen as investors trimmed long
positions on caution over what euro zone finance ministers might
say about its recent strength. []
"My view is that gold's probably going to consolidate around
current levels," said Adrian Koh, an analyst at Phillip Futures.
Koh said gold trade was quiet and he was waiting for further
direction for the market.
Fujitomi's Saito also believes gold will trade around $1,050
for the time being until crude oil, which has not been rising at
the same pace as gold, catches up.
U.S. crude oil <CLc1> steadied after hitting a 12-month high
above $79 a barrel on Monday. []
It is still down more than 40 percent from its record high
above $147 marked in July 2008.
"I think gold is waiting for crude oil to top $80 before
rising again on inflation fears," Saito said.
The rise in speculative net long positions to a record last
week was also putting pressure on the gold market, Saito said.
Noncommercial net longs in U.S. gold futures rose to an
all-time high of 253,955 lots in the week to Oct. 13, up 6
percent from a week earlier, data published on Friday by the
Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed. []
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the
SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, said its holdings stood at 1,109.314
tonnes as of Oct. 16, unchanged since Oct. 7. []
Other precious metals were also little changed. Spot silver
<XAG=> was at $17.37 per ounce, down 0.2 percent from $17.41.
Platinum <XPT=> was at $1,341.50 versus $1,341.00, while
palladium <XPD=> was almost flat at $326.
PRICES
Precious metals prices at 0607 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover
Spot Gold 1051.60 0.80 +0.08 19.48
Spot Silver 17.38 -0.03 -0.17 53.53
Spot Platinum 1341.50 0.50 +0.04 43.94
Spot Palladium 326.00 -0.50 -0.15 76.69
TOCOM Gold 3082.00 11.00 +0.36 19.78 39779
TOCOM Platinum 3925.00 8.00 +0.20 48.00 6042
TOCOM Silver 508.60 3.20 +0.63 59.29 180
TOCOM Palladium 959.00 12.00 +1.27 74.36 158
Euro/Dollar 1.4883
Dollar/Yen 90.86
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Additional reporting by Risa Maeda; Editing by Michael Watson)
