* Gold holds near record; SPDR holdings hit new high
* For the technical outlook on gold []
* Coming Up: U.S. ECRI weekly index; 1430 GMT
(Updates prices, adds quotes)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, June 18 (Reuters) - Gold held steady on
safe-haven buying on Friday and was seen challenging its
all-time high on a rise in physical bullion holdings, a weaker
dollar and persistent worries about Europe's fiscal outlook.
Holdings in the world's largest bullion-backed Exchange
Traded Fund rose for the first time in a week to a record, as
investors built up positions due to uncertainty in the global
economy.
Spot gold <XAU=> rose as high as $1,248 an ounce in early
trade, lifted by the firming euro. It stood at $1,244.85 an
ounce at 0612 GMT, up $1.45 from New York's notional close on
Thursday and up 1.6 percent for the week.
"It looks like the price is going to get higher and higher.
It has tried to break through $1,250 and I think it should go
beyond that," said a physical dealer in Singapore. "I don't
think people dare to sell it off yet."
Gold hit an intraday high around $1,250 on Thursday, coming
within sight of its $1,251.20 record struck June 8, when
investors poured money into gold due to worries the euro zone
debt crisis would spread.
"I would expect a little bit of volatility in the week
ahead. But I don't, at this stage, see any reason why gold will
sell off, certainly not below $1,200," said Darren Heathcote,
head of trading at Investec Australia in Sydney.
"Looking at it technically, we could be aiming towards
$1,260, but on support side, probably somewhere around towards
$1,225-ish."
For a graphic showing gold's technical outlook, click on:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/WT_20101806084651.jpg
U.S. gold futures for August delivery <GCQ0> fell $2.6 an
ounce to $1,246.1 an ounce.
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR
Gold Trust <GLD.P> said its holdings rose to a record high at
1,307.963 tonnes as of June 17 from 1,306.137 tonnes on June
10. []
Traders said volumes were thin in Asia, making it easier to
move prices, with jewellers on the sidelines after making light
purchases the previous day.
Silver was steady, while platinum group metals edged down
alongside industrial base metals. []
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For a graphic on SPDR Gold holdings flow, click:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/10/GLD_SPDRVL0610.gif
For a graphic on total holdings on SPDR, click:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/10/GLD_SPDR0610.gif
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Europe's fiscal problems are a risk that will have some
effect on U.S. growth during the rest of this year and 2011,
U.S. Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Donald Kohn told the Wall
Street Journal. []
The euro held steady near three-week highs on Friday, as
investors liquidated short positions after a robust response to
Spanish bond auctions, while the dollar index <.DXY> fell to a
1-month low. []
U.S. data showed a decline in the Philadelphia Federal
Reserve's mid-Atlantic manufacturing index while there was a
rise in first-time jobless claims. [].
The Nikkei edged up on Friday, climbing back towards a
one-month high hit earlier in the week after U.S. stocks inched
higher on momentum gained after the S&P 500 index broke through
its 200-day moving average. [] []
U.S. crude futures extended losses on Friday as sluggish
economic indicators raised doubts about the sustainability of a
recent acceleration in demand growth by top oil consumer the
United States. [] Precious metals prices at 0612 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 1244.85 1.45 +0.12 13.61
Spot Silver 18.75 0.08 +0.43 11.41
Spot Platinum 1572.15 -1.85 -0.12 7.17
Spot Palladium 478.13 -1.37 -0.29 17.91
TOCOM Gold 3647.00 14.00 +0.39 11.91
35422
TOCOM Platinum 4645.00 -6.00 -0.13 6.03
11302
TOCOM Silver 55.30 0.70 +1.28 6.96
326
TOCOM Palladium 1407.00 19.00 +1.37 20.77
225
Euro/Dollar 1.2391
Dollar/Yen 90.85
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by)
