* Gold firm on lingering euro zone debt woes, soft U.S. data
* SPDR gold ETF holdings rise to record 1,307.963 T
* Gold:silver ratio at lowest since May on day-to-day basis
(Updates prices)
By Jan Harvey
LONDON, June 18 (Reuters) - Gold held within reach of record
highs in Europe on Friday as buyers looked to it as a haven
against persistent fears of sovereign risk in Europe and after
lacklustre U.S. data raised doubts over wider economic recovery.
The precious metal's gains were limited, however, as
immediate concerns over the euro's outlook were allayed by solid
demand at Spanish bond auctions, which eased fears about the
government's debt-servicing ability.
Spot gold <XAU=> was bid at $1,244.65 an ounce at 1017 GMT,
against $1,243.40 late in New York on Thursday. U.S. gold
futures for August delivery <GCQ0> eased $2.30 to $1,245.40.
Prices had reached $1,250.65 on Thursday, close to the
record $1,251.20 of last week. Its move came despite a rise in
the euro, weakness in which has lifted gold this year as
investors bought the metal as an alternative to paper
currencies.
"The main driver behind gold is not the currencies; it is
the underlying fundamental problems, especially here in Europe,"
said Commerzbank analyst Daniel Briesemann.
"Gold should rise further. It increased significantly
yesterday. On a closing basis, gold in U.S. dollars reached a
record high and intraday we were only $1 below the record high."
He said the prospect of publication of European bank stress
tests was unsettling some market participants amid fears these
could point to deeper problems in the financial sector.
European leaders agreed on Thursday to publish details of
stress tests showing the health of individual banks next month
and to toughen budget rules to restore confidence in the
currency union. []
The euro held at three-week highs, on track for its second
straight week of gains, while the dollar appeared vulnerable to
further losses after falling below a key chart level in the wake
of a raft of below-forecast U.S. economic data. []
European shares initially firmed, rising for the eighth
straight session after Wall Street shares eked out modest gains,
although later turning negative. []
U.S. stocks staged a late recovery on Thursday after earlier
declining as weak reports on regional manufacturing and jobless
claims underscored worries about the pace of the economic
recovery. []
SPDR ETF HITS RECORD
Holdings of the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded
fund, New York's SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, hit record highs at
1,307.963 tonnes on Thursday as investors continued to turn to
physical bullion as a haven from risk.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
For a graphic showing the volume flow in holdings of the
SPDR fund, click on:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/10/GLD_SPDRVL0610.gif. For a
graphic showing the rise in total holdings, click on:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/10/GLD_SPDR0610.gif
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
Among other precious metals, silver <XAG=> rose to $18.70 an
ounce from $18.67, slightly outperforming gold, after the metal
hit a four-week high of $18.86 an ounce on Thursday.
The gold:silver ratio fell to its lowest since late May on a
day-to-day basis, with one ounce of gold now buying 66.4 ounces
of silver. Silver, a smaller and more illiquid market than gold,
tends to outperform the yellow metal when prices are rising.
"If both gold and silver continue to improve, we expect
silver to outperform, thus moving the gold-silver ratio lower,"
said ScotiaMocatta in a note.
Among other precious metals, platinum <XPT=> was at
$1,562.65 an ounce against $1,574, while palladium <XPD=> was at
$472.73 against $479.50.
The world's biggest palladium producer, Norilsk Nickel
<GMKN.MM>, said it had received an offer for some of its
Australian assets, and that it planned to proceed with plans to
divest them. []
(Editing by Jane Baird)
