* Rising risk appetite keeps haven buying at bay
* SPDR gold ETF sees biggest outflow in a year in July
* Turkey raises July gold imports to 19.9 T vs 14.3 T
(Updates, adds comment, changes dateline from SINGAPORE)
By Jan Harvey
LONDON, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Gold held above $1,180 an ounce in
Europe on Monday, supported by firmer physical demand from Asia
and a weaker dollar, but a dearth of haven buying as confidence
in the financial markets improved kept a lid on gains.
Spot gold <XAU=> was bid at $1,180.75 an ounce at 0903 GMT,
against $1,181.50 late in New York on Friday. U.S. gold futures
for August delivery <GCQ0> eased 90 cents to $1,183.00.
Investment in the precious metal has tailed off over the
summer months as assets seen as higher risk like equities firmed
at gold's expense. This has helped drag gold from the record
$1,264.90 an ounce it hit in June.
"There is currently hardly any great sense in buying gold,"
said Quantitative Commodity Research consultant Peter Fertig.
"The situation in the southern European countries has
eased... and in the U.S. the market is more concerned about the
double-dip recession," he added.
Softer investment appetite for gold meant the world's
largest bullion exchange-traded fund, the SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>,
saw its biggest outflow in a year last month, with holdings down
more than 38 tonnes in July to 1,282.3 tonnes. []
Nonetheless lower prices encouraged higher gold demand from
key bullion-consuming centres China, India and the Middle East.
Indian gold buying rose on Monday afternoon as traders took
advantage of the strong rupee, which made the dollar-quoted
asset cheaper, to complete deals, traders said. []
Meanwhile imports into major gold consumer Turkey rose to
19.9 tonnes in July, the Istanbul Gold Exchange said, from 14.3
tonnes a year ago and 300 kilograms in June. []
Better appetite for risk boosted other markets. Equities
made strong gains on Monday in Europe, with the FTSEurofirst 300
<> rising 1.9 percent in early trade. [] []
This followed a strong session in Asia, where stocks rose on
Monday on strong corporate earnings and shrugged off news that
Chinese manufacturing shrank in July amid investor hopes that
the world's fastest growing major economy will expand strongly.
OIL CLIMBS
Other assets seen as higher risk also rose, with oil prices
climbing towards a 12-week high above $79 on Monday as
macroeconomic indicators in top energy consumers the United
States and China showed slower but sustained growth. []
The dollar index <.DXY> hit a three-month low on Monday,
hurt by worries that the U.S. economy's recovery is losing
steam, while the euro and the high-yielding Australian dollar
reached a three-month high. []
Other industrial precious metals outperformed gold as risk
appetite improved.
Silver <XAG=> was at $18.11 an ounce versus $17.96, while
its ratio to gold -- or how many ounces of silver are needed to
buy an ounce of gold -- hit its lowest since mid-May at 65.0.
Platinum <XPT=> was at $1,583.05 an ounce against $1,566.55,
while palladium <XPD=> was at $494.78 against $491. Palladium
reached a fresh 10-week high at $498 an ounce in earlier trade.
Both metals saw significant interest on the New York futures
market last week, according to the Commodity Futures Exchange
Commission's Commitment of Traders report.
"An assessment of platinum and palladium positioning reveals
a rush of investor support last week," said UBS analyst Edel
Tully in a report. "Platinum net longs soared by 15.1 percent,
or 119,300 ounces."
"Even during platinum's perceived bullishness earlier this
year, the metal did not experience such a swelling in net long
holdings in one single week," she said. "Palladium followed a
similar path, with the Nymex book adding 118,700 ounces or 8.8
percent."
(Editing by Sue Thomas)
