* SPDR Trust holdings rise to record above 970 tonnes
* Total gold ETC holdings up 200 tonnes this year
* Investors prepare for inflation surge
(Recasts, adds detail/comment, pvs Singapore)
By Pratima Desai
LONDON, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Gold prices slipped on Friday as
fears of financial meltdown receded, but analysts say investors
expecting only a brief respite from the maelstrom will carry on
piling into the precious metal.
Stock markets rose on Friday, boosted by news that the
United States was working on a programme to subsidise mortgages
for homeowners before they fall into loan arrears. []
Rising hopes of financial stability prompted a bout of
profit-taking which took spot gold <XAU=> to a session low of
$932.80 an ounce. At 1050 GMT it was at $934.80/936.80 an ounce
from $945.05 late in New York on Thursday.
"We don't expect it to move on dramatically from here,
unless things take a turn for the worse in the global economy,"
said Tom Gidley-Kitchin, an analyst at brokers Charles Stanley.
"The bull case for gold is that it is a safe haven."
The escalating crisis in the banking sector has pushed up
gold prices by about 40 percent since late October last year.
Higher prices are reflected in the world's largest
gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>. The
fund's holdings reached a record above 970 tonnes as of February
12, a 30 percent jump since the end of October.
"This means that SPDR's gold holdings are now close to the
level of those of the world's sixth largest holder of gold, the
Swiss National Bank, which held 1,040 tons of gold in its vaults
at the end of December," Commerzbank said in a note
"The Perth Mint reports an unprecedented demand for gold in
the last three months, mainly from U.S. investors. According to
the Mint, the value of the gold holdings by investors had
doubled in the past year to comfortably over $2 billion."
DRAMATIC APPETITE INCREASE
Total exchange traded product holdings have risen at their
fastest ever rate so far this year, growing by 200 tonnes to
almost 1,400 tonnes, Barclays Capital said in a note.
"Prices continue to appreciate steadily, but what really
stands out is the dramatic increase in appetite for physical
gold among investors."
Benchmark gold futures for April delivery <GCJ9> eased to
$941.2 an ounce from $954 late on Thursday and compared with a
record $1,050 in March 2008.
Spot gold too hit a record -- $1,030.80 -- last March.
Many now expect investment demand to help push prices
towards these levels.
Others think a new record could be set when inflation takes
off next year because of the large amounts of money being pumped
into the global economy by central banks and governments to
boost growth and confidence.
Spot platinum <XPT=>, tracking gold, also slipped to
$1,062/1,072 an ounce from $1,073 an ounce on Thursday.
Deteriorating sales and bleak prospects in the auto sector
have contributed to platinum's fall in recent months. The metal
used in autocatalysts to clean car emissions is expected to stay
under pressure.
Palladium <XPD=> was at $213/218 an ounce from $213.50 and
silver <XAG=> at $13.35/13.43 from $13.46 on Thursday.
(Editing by Sue Thomas)
