* Gold ticks up ahead of U.S. data
* Technicals point downward to $1,220/oz []
* Coming Up: U.S. Durable goods July; 1230 GMT
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Gold rose on Wednesday
despite a slight drop in ETF holdings, with more poor data from
the United States likely to spur buying by investors worried
about the health of the global economy.
But thin volume ahead of the release of U.S. durable goods
data showed the gains were driven mainly by speculators as
higher prices also spurred selling of gold bars in Singapore.
Gold <XAU=> added $1.40 to $1,230.65 an ounce by 0324 GMT,
having dropped to its weakest level in nearly two weeks around
$1,210 on Tuesday before bouncing to more than $1,235 after
sales of previously owned U.S. homes took a record plunge in
July.
Other precious metals were mostly higher, with silver
underpinned by a rise in ISharest Silver Trust holdings and
purchases by Indian consumers. []
"It seems that we are still bound in a range trading. It's
just a normal market. Nothing special, but still there's some
demand here," said Ellison Chu, manager of precious metals at
Standard Bank Asia in Hong Kong.
U.S. gold futures for December delivery <GCZ0> fell $1 to
$1,232.4 an ounce after rising as high as $1,237.50 on Tuesday.
For a graphic of the 24-hour gold technical outlook,
click:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/WT/20102508095519.jpg
Shares dropped in Asia, with Japan's Nikkei at a 16-month
low, as investors sold riskier assets after a series of poor
U.S. economic data amplified fears the economy culd be sliding
into a prolonged period of stagnation or even recession.
[]
The euro's upside was limited after rating agency Standard
& Poor downgraded Ireland to AA- and warned the outlook was
still negative, fanning worries about euro zone sovereign debt
and the banking system. []
In theory, economic worries will lift gold's safe haven
appeal in times of uncertainty, but the metal's previous
attempts to hit new highs have been met by profit taking. Gold
struck a lifetime high around $1,264 an ounce in June.
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR
Gold Trust <GLD.P>, said its holdings slipped to 1,297.948
tonnes by August 24 from 1,299.468 tonnes on August 19. The
holdings hit a record at 1,320.436 tonnes on June 29.
[]
"There was plenty of good buying when prices hovered around
$1,220 last night, but then people start to sell back when the
price is heading north again. Selling persists but volume is
low," said a physical dealer in Singapore.
"We are also seeing good physical demand for silver from
India lately," he added.
Demand for silver bars and coins has picked up in India as
consumers seek to diversify risk as well as making a quick
return, with prices of the metal far below that of gold.
[]
In the energy market, oil bounced from a seven-week low on
Wednesday as investors looked for relief in U.S. durable goods
and oil inventory reports due later in the day, after fears of
a double-dip recession intensified with dismal housing data.
[]
Precious metals prices at 0324 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 1230.65 1.40 +0.11 12.32
Spot Silver 18.40 0.06 +0.33 9.33
Spot Platinum 1514.00 4.00 +0.26 3.20
Spot Palladium 485.00 2.50 +0.52 19.61
TOCOM Gold 3350.00 7.00 +0.21 2.79
38909
TOCOM Platinum 4138.00 21.00 +0.51 -5.55
12599
TOCOM Silver 50.80 1.20 +2.42 -1.74
372
TOCOM Palladium 1324.00 21.00 +1.61 13.65
102
Euro/Dollar 1.2663
Dollar/Yen 84.43
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
