By Risa Maeda
TOKYO, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Gold eased on Friday after rising
above $950 an ounce again the previous day, but holdings at the
world's largest gold-backed fund rose almost 4 percent to a
record, reflecting mounting demand for safe-haven investment.
World stock markets and the dollar gained ground from the
previous day's sell-off, after sources familiar with the plan
told Reuters the Obama administration was hammering out a
programme to subsidise mortgages. []
Spot gold <XAU=> was trading at $939.60 an ounce, down 0.6
percent from New York's notional close on Thursday, but on
track for a rise of roughly 3 percent on the week.
Bullion hit a peak of $953.30 on Wednesday, its highest
since July 2008, and rose as high as $951.80 on Thursday.
Benchmark gold futures for April delivery <GCJ9> eased to
$944.1 an ounce after rising above $950 an ounce to as high as
$954, the highest since July 23, late on Thursday.
But market participants remained mostly bullish, given
uncertainty over prospects for the global economy. A glut of
money supplied by central banks and governments to prop up
economies also helps make gold shine.
"Thanks to low interest rates around the globe, the demerit
of holding precious metals has disappeared," said Yuki Sonoda,
adviser to the president at Daiichi Commodities Co.
"Investors keep fleeing towards a safe haven. Helped by a
consistent inflow of long-term funds, gold is set to reach the
$1,000 level sooner rather than later," Sonoda said, referring
to a boom in exchange-traded funds backed by gold.
Gold could rally above its previous all-time high to as
much as $1,500 an ounce if it manages to close the week above
$892 an ounce, technical analysts at Barclays Capital say.
[]
Exchange-traded funds which issue securities backed by
physical stocks of bullion as well as silver have seen interest
soar as long-term investors seek out equities and other
conventional assets.
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the
SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, said on Friday its holdings hit a record
970.57 tonnes as of Feb. 12, up 35.48 tonnes or 3.8 percent
from the previous day. []
The holdings were up more than 20 percent this year.
The iShares Silver Trust <SLV> is the world's biggest
silver-backed ETF, with holdings at an all-time high of nearly
7,607 tonnes, up more than 10 percent this year.
In addition to buying by U.S. fund managers, there was talk
that Indian investors were rushing to buy silver, relatively
less costly than gold, for investment.
Spot silver <XAG=> was at $13.45 an ounce, almost flat from
its notional U.S. close of $13.46.
Precious metals prices at 0322 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 939.50 -5.55 -0.59 12.83
Spot Silver 13.45 -0.01 -0.07 -8.94
Spot Platinum 1061.50 -11.50 -1.07 -30.16
Spot Palladium 213.50 0.00 +0.00 -41.98
TOCOM Gold 2752.00 5.00 +0.18 -10.07
17972
TOCOM Platinum 3107.00 -1.00 -0.03 -41.81
4649
TOCOM Silver 388.50 -4.40 -1.12 -28.19
120
TOCOM Palladium 636.00 3.00 +0.47 -52.92
120
Euro/Dollar 1.2922
Dollar/Yen 91.16
(Additional reporting by Chikako Mogi; Editing by Clarence
Fernandez)
