* Gold moves away from 1-mth low as euro, oil recover
* SPDR Gold Trust's <GLD> bullion holdings hit fresh record
By Chikako Mogi
TOKYO, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Gold rose on Friday, moving away
from the previous day's one-month low, as oil prices recovered
and the euro rebounded against the dollar.
Gold has been caught in a range, lacking incentives to test
its upside but drawing support from its safe-haven status and
appeal as an alternative to assets such as stocks, dejected by
the prospect of a prolonged global recession, analysts said.
Bullion's safe haven appeal was reinforced by mounting
credit fears on news of further trouble at Bank of America and
Citigroup, analysts said.
Strong investor interest was spotlighted by news that the
world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the SPDR Gold
Trust <GLD>, held a record 795.25 tonnes of gold by Jan. 15, up
4.59 tonnes from 790.66 tonnes on Jan. 14. []
"Current market levels appear to be comfortable for
everyone, with support coming from such ETF buying, while the
upside is limited given a lack of inflation worries," said
Naomi Suzuki, an analyst at SCM Securities in Tokyo.
"There is a flight-to-quality aspect behind gold buying and
a view that the gold market is relatively firmer than other
markets," Suzuki said.
Earlier on Friday, gold moved towards a one-month low as
U.S. crude futures extended declines to near $35 a barrel after
a 5 percent fall on Thursday, and the U.S. dollar firmed
against the euro.
By 0330 GMT, gold <XAU=> had inched up 0.4 percent to
$821.05 an ounce from New York's notional close of $817.45.
Gold fell to a one-month low of $801.65 on Thursday.
U.S. crude futures were up 0.3 percent at $35.69. Gold
typically moves in line with crude as the direction of the oil
market is an indicator of interest in commodities. []
The euro rebounded from earlier falls to stand up 0.9
percent against the dollar at $1.3223 <EUR=>. The currency fell
against the dollar on Thursday after the European Central Bank
cut rates for the fourth month in a row, slashing rates by 50
basis points to 2 percent, matching a record low rate.
[]
A weaker dollar makes dollar-based gold less expensive for
holders of other currencies.
U.S. gold futures were higher in Asia, with futures for
February delivery <GCG9> at $820.9 per ounce, up $13.6 or 1.7
percent from Thursday's settlement on the COMEX division of the
New York Mercantile Exchange.
Cash platinum <XPT=> rose as high as $940.00 an ounce, up
$17.5 from New York's notional close.
The December platinum contract on the Tokyo Commodity
Exchange <0#JPL:> rose 93 yen per gram to 2,729 yen. The TOCOM
December gold contract <0#JAU:> gained 58 yen per gram to 2,393
yen.
Precious metals prices at 0342 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 821.00 3.55 +0.43 -6.72
Spot Silver 10.67 0.09 +0.85 -5.74
Spot Platinum 943.50 21.00 +2.28 1.23
Spot Palladium 180.00 3.00 +1.69 -2.44
TOCOM Gold 2395.00 60.00 +2.57 -6.92
18527
TOCOM Platinum 2745.00 109.00 +4.14 3.51
6789
TOCOM Silver 309.90 12.90 +4.34 -2.94
119
TOCOM Palladium 535.00 20.00 +3.88 -2.73
88
Euro/Dollar 1.3234
Dollar/Yen 90.26
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 Lewa Pardomuan in Singapore; Editing
by Clarence Fernandez)
