* Gold rises above $925, lifted by soft dollar
* Holdings of SPDR gold ETF unchanged since mid-May
By Miho Yoshikawa
TOKYO, May 20 (Reuters) - Gold was a touch firmer on
Wednesday, trading above $925 as investor demand for a
safe-haven asset spurted in the face of a weaker dollar.
Data released on Tuesday showed an unexpected fall in U.S.
housing starts to record lows in April, burnishing bullion's
appeal as a store of value.
While the overall health of the economy will stay in focus,
the dollar's direction is expected to remain the decisive
factor as the traditional negative correlation between the U.S.
currency and gold comes more sharply into play.
Gold <XAU=> was at $926.50 an ounce by 0458 GMT, up 0.2
percent from its notional settlement of $924.65.
"Gold's generally still on a gradual uptrend and if we can
retest and move above the previous high of about $933, then
gold should continue to head higher," said Adrian Koh, an
analyst at Singapore's Phillip Futures.
The precious metal rose to $933.50 on Monday.
"I'm still negative on the dollar as it should continue to
head lower in the longer term ... that in turn should support
gold higher," Koh said.
The dollar fell against the yen on Wednesday, although it
inched up a touch against the euro after losing ground the
previous day. []
The dollar fell 0.4 percent to 95.57 yen <JPY=>, slipping
towards a two-month low of 94.55 set earlier in the week.
U.S. gold futures for June delivery <GCM9> were at $926.60,
down 0.01 percent from Tuesday's settlement on the COMEX
division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Bullion is currently down about 8 percent from an 11-month
high over $1,000 marked in February, when risk-averse investors
flocked to the precious metal.
Since then, tentative signs that the economy may be over
its worst have emboldened investors to seek riskier assets.
This is underscored by the flow of funds into gold-backed
exchange traded funds (ETFs), which have recently stalled.
The SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, the world's largest, said
holdings stood at 1,105.62 tonnes as of May 19, unchanged since
May 13, and down about 2 percent from a record marked in April
9. []
Gold has been divided between the soft dollar and firmer
equities in recent weeks.
Japan's Nikkei average rose 0.4 percent as trading company
shares rose after a brokerage upgraded Mitsubishi Corp
<8058.T>. []
In a sign that the world's major economies are not out of
the woods, Japan's economy shrank 4.0 percent in the first
quarter, the biggest contraction on record, but economists see
a return to modest growth in the coming quarters for the
world's No.2 economy. []
Platinum <XPT=> inched lower, giving up some of Tuesday's
gains chalked up on news that President Barack Obama would
propose the most aggressive increase in U.S. auto fuel
efficiency ever, which could lift usage of the metal used to
scrub auto emissions.
A sharp decline in global production of automobiles has
hammered platinum prices this year.
It was trading at $1,131 per ounce, down 0.6 percent from
Tuesday's notional close of $1,137.50
London is hosting the annual Platinum Week gathering. For a
TAKE-A-LOOK, see []
Precious metals prices at 0359 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 926.10 1.45 +0.16 5.22
Spot Silver 14.10 -0.05 -0.35 24.56
Spot Platinum 1131.00 -6.50 -0.57 21.35
Spot Palladium 231.00 -0.50 -0.22 25.20
TOCOM Gold 2861.00 -9.00 -0.31 11.19
14041
TOCOM Platinum 3506.00 -17.00 -0.48 32.20
8154
TOCOM Silver 431.20 5.00 +1.17 35.05
153
TOCOM Palladium 722.00 9.00 +1.26 31.27
183
Euro/Dollar 1.3614
Dollar/Yen 95.65
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Reporting by Miho Yoshikawa; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
