* Spot gold up 0.4 percent at $943.45 per ounce <XAU=>
* Euro spurred on, dollar dips after euro zone PMI data
* Analysts favour downside for rangebound bullion
* SPDR Gold holdings <XAUEXT-NYS-TT> steady
(Updates prices, byline, adds quotes, PVS TOKYO)
By Veronica Brown
LONDON, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Gold firmed to hold near $945 per
ounce in Europe on Friday, in tandem with a stronger euro, after
robust euro area economic data dented the dollar's appeal and
made bullion cheaper for non-U.S. investors.
But while the metal made progress, it was still hemmed into
narrow ranges, having mostly traded below $950 this week. So far
this month it has shed some 1 percent.
By 1010 GMT, gold <XAU=> stood at $943.45 per ounce, up 0.4
percent from $939.35 quoted late in New York on Thursday. U.S.
gold futures for December delivery <GCZ9> rose $3.90 to $945.60
per ounce.
Analysts said the struggle to break out of recent ranges
could well result in downside capitulation, before another
attempt to break above psychological resistance at $1,000.
A lack of physical demand was also weighing on prices.
"The market looks stuck between $935 and $945 for now
although I favour the downside as there is just so much metal
sitting around at the moment that I think we have to unwind that
before we can make any real headway," said Simon Weeks,
director, precious metal sales at Bank of Nova Scotia in London.
On the macro front, a provisional purchasing managers' poll
revealed the decline in the euro zone's dominant services sector
almost came to a halt in August and businesses' expectations for
the future soared to their highest level in more than two years.
[].
This helped the euro <EUR=> and European share markets
<> to secure a firmer footing, while the dollar dropped,
as the data boosted views that the worst of recession may have
passed in the single currency area.
On precious metal markets, analysts say potential inflation
that could accompany a fledgling recovery may boost gold's
appeal as a hedge against rising price pressures.
PHYSICAL DEMAND LACKING
Asia-based traders said the absence of demand for gold
jewellery, as demonstrated by falling imports in India, was a
factor weighing on the spot market.
India's July gold imports fell two-thirds from a year
earlier as high prices dented demand in one of the world's top
markets where gold jewellery is often given as gifts during
festival seasons or at weddings, a trade body said this week.
[]
"Gold is a luxury item but in this day and age money is
going where it is needed ... and a prime example of that
happening is in India," said Kazuhiko Saito, chief analyst at
Tokyo's Fujitomi Co Ltd.
The SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, the world's largest, said its
holdings held steady at 1,065.49 tonnes as of Aug. 20, unchanged
for almost two weeks and down 68.54 tonnes from a record marked
on June 1. []
In other metals, platinum <XPT=> was down 0.2 percent at
$1,234.50 per ounce. Dealers said however that prices may find
support depending on developments in South Africa, the world's
top producer of the precious metal.
Impala Platinum <IMPJ.J>, the world's second-biggest
platinum producer, said on Thursday it was seeking further talks
with a South African union planning an indefinite strike next
week. []
Silver rose 0.3 percent to $13.96 <XAG=>, following gold and
base metals, while palladium fell 0.3 percent to $271.00.
