* Gold recovers losses, safe-haven appeal intact
* Silver pulls back from 2-1/2 year peaks
* ECB governing council's Ordonez speaks at 1830 GMT
(Updates throughout with comment, refreshes prices)
By Amanda Cooper
LONDON, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Gold was little changed within
sight of its recent all-time highs on Thursday, recovering from
an earlier drop on upbeat U.S. labour data as investors remained
unconvinced of the resilience of the world's largest economy.
Gold has risen by some 15 percent in 2010 as economic
uncertainty has unleashed a wave of investment in perceived
safe-haven assets.
Spot gold <XAU=> was bid at $1,254.40 an ounce at 1437 GMT
from $1,254.50 late in New York on Wednesday and less than 1
percent below June's record high at $1,264.90 an ounce. Earlier
it fell to $1,250.30 an ounce.
U.S. gold futures for December delivery <GCZ0> were last
down $1.5 at $1,256.00 an ounce.
In Europe, equities rose and government bond prices fell on
the back of the U.S. data and on Ireland's decision to wind down
lender Anglo Irish Bank in the coming weeks, which boosted
investor risk appetite. []
"(Gold) got a bit of a lift from concern over sovereign debt
and European banks earlier in the week, but that has faded and
it's tough to find -- although the general climate, you could
argue is positive -- ... to find a near-term catalyst to keep
propelling the market higher and probably one of the reasons
that we haven't hit new highs," said James Steel, an analyst for
HSBC in New York.
GROWTH RISK
However, the risk of slower global growth remained in the
background, and analysts said gold looked unlikely to shed its
appeal as a safe-haven investment any time soon.
"We are still in a situation where confidence ebbs and flows
pretty rapidly from day to day, and sometimes from hour to hour,
and morning to afternoon as the data comes in and changes
people's opinions," said Credit Suisse analyst Tom Kendall.
"The rally has done a lot, and it is looking a little tired
right now, so we wouldn't be surprised to see it consolidate, or
come off a bit before trying again," he said, adding gold was
likely to trade through $1,300 through the end of this year.
U.S. weekly initial jobless claims fell to a two-month low
last week, while the trade deficit narrowed by more than
expected in July. []
Gold hit its high in June as concern over the impact of the
European sovereign debt crisis and as the U.S. economic recovery
came into question.
The U.S. economy has shown "widespread signs" of slowing
over recent weeks, the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday in a
report, suggesting that while the recovery has been faltering,
the economy may skirt a second recession. []
"Sentiment is waning and rising; it's like a tide," a trader
said. "I'm not sure where it's going to end. Guess we need to
see a few more data points."
In fundamental news for gold, the South African statistics
office said gold output fell 3.4 percent in volume terms, while
total mineral production fell 1.0 percent in July. []
Gold output has been dwindling in South Africa, which is
expected to drop in the rankings to the world's fifth-largest
producer this year from fourth in 2009, according to Reuters
data.
In other precious metals, silver <XAG=> was bid at $19.99 an
ounce, against $19.88 on Wednesday when it hit its highest level
since early 2008, as investors sought a cheaper safe-haven
alternative to gold.
In the platinum group metals, traders kept an eye on
developments at South African miner Northam Platinum, where
union members are currently on strike and say action may
continue for months.
Platinum <XPT=> was last quoted at $1,558.00 an ounce,
compared with $1,554.00 the day before, while palladium <XPD=>
was at $525.50 compared with $522.00 on Wednesday.
(Additional reporting by Pratima Desai; Editing by Jane Baird)
