* Holdings by SPDR Gold Trust hit record high []
* Gold ceiling at $1,160-$1,170 looks tough to break through
* Coming up: FOMC meeting starts []
By Risa Maeda
TOKYO, April 27 (Reuters) - Gold was steady on Tuesday, near
a one-week high marked the previous day, as a halt in the euro's
decline provided support, while worries about debt-laden Greece
maintained the allure of gold to avoid sovereign risk.
The market focus is on the Federal Reserve's two-day policy
meeting starting later in the day, with the consensus that the
Fed is in no hurry to raise interest rates, judging by the
cautious tone of its most influential members.
Underlining steady investor demand for the precious metal,
holdings of physical stocks of gold by the world's biggest
gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, rose
to a record high as of Monday.
But buying has faltered whenever gold nears a four-month high
of $1,168.70 marked earlier this month partly because the
dollar's firmness makes investors hesitant to buy up the precious
metal. The markets are also watching how Greece progresses in
securing emergency aid, analysts said.
Gold stopped rising at $1,159.73 on Monday, its highest since
April 15.
"One of the prime facile reasons why gold isn't able to
scythe through $1,170 seems to be because the metal is trapped,
with the extreme strength of the dollar on one side and the
uncertainty with respect to Greece's (possible) default on the
other. Investors don't have a clue whether they should diversify
into the metal or wait for further dips," said Pradeep Unni, a
senior analyst at Richcomm Global Services in Dubai.
"Dollar certainly is on a rising path and gold's sustained
gains are more likely to face tough barricades ahead," he said.
Spot gold <XAU=> was steady at $1,153.65 per ounce as of 0556
GMT, compared to $1,153.38 per ounce in New York.
Kaname Gokon, deputy general manager in Japanese brokerage
Okato Shoji Co's research section, also said the technical
ceiling of $1,160-$1,170 was tough to break through for now.
"Nobody wants to buy near the recent highs. But there's
strong buying demand at or below $1,130," Gokon said.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Technical analysis of spot gold price []
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
U.S. gold futures for June delivery <GCM0> traded at
$1,154.40 per ounce, slightly up from the settlement of $1,154 on
the COMEX division of the NYMEX.
In the currency market, the euro <EUR=> hovered just below
$1.3400 as short-covering on the European single currency
stalled after lifting it from a one-year low.
On Monday, euro-priced <XAUEUR=R> gold hit a record high of
868.57 euros, bolstered by a combination of risk-averse buying
and euro weakness. Gold in euro terms stood at 862.41 euros an
ounce on Tuesday.
The SPDR Gold Trust said its holdings rose to a record of
1,146.216 tonnes as of April 26, up 6.088 tonnes from the
previous business day and exceeding the previous high marked on
April 9. []
Among other precious metals, platinum and palladium stayed
near their multi-month highs, supported by industrial demand.
Spot platinum <XPT=> was at $1,746.50 an ounce, up 0.4
percent from New York's $1,743. It earlier rose as high as
$1,752.50, its highest since July 2008.
Spot palladium <XPD=> was down 0.1 percent at $564 an ounce,
still not far from a two-year high of $570.70 marked on Monday.
Precious metals prices at 0609 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover
Spot Gold 1153.65 0.27 0.02 5.29
Spot Silver 18.28 0.02 0.11 8.62
Spot Platinum 1746.50 3.50 0.20 19.05
Spot Palladium 562.50 -2.00 -0.35 38.72
TOCOM Gold 3492 N/A N/A 7.15 39628
TOCOM Platinum 5252 N/A N/A 19.88 17458
TOCOM Silver 56 N/A N/A 7.54 1181
TOCOM Palladium 1700 N/A N/A 45.92 1305
Euro/Dollar 1.3376
Dollar/Yen 93.86
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Michael Watson)
