* Dollar firms vs euro; ECB seen cutting rates by 50 bp
* Oil slides as demand woes outweigh U.S. stockpile dip
* ZKB platinum ETF holdings rise 27 pct
(Recasts, adds detail, changes dateline, pvs SINGAPORE)
LONDON, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Gold slipped in Europe on Thursday
as the dollar firmed against the euro ahead of an expected rate
cut by the European Central Bank later in the session, and oil
prices fell $1 a barrel.
Investors are eyeing rate cuts this session from both the
ECB and the Bank of England and key U.S. jobs data on Friday for
clues as to the future direction of trade.
Spot gold <XAU=> slid to $769.25/771.25 an ounce at 1000 GMT
from $772.60 an ounce in New York late on Wednesday.
"With a lower euro-dollar and lower oil, gold is pressured a
bit," Commerzbank senior trader Michael Kempsinki said. "Around
$735, $750, we should see some good buying interest coming into
the market."
The dollar firmed in early trade against the euro, as did
the yen, as investors worried about the breadth and depth of the
global recession bought into the currencies.
A stronger dollar tends to weigh on gold, which is commonly
bought as a hedge against weakness in the U.S. currency.
The European Central Bank and Bank of England are expected
to announce rate cuts later in the session. []
The ECB is widely seen cutting by 50 basis points to 2.75
percent, while the BoE could slash its rates by up to 1
percentage point to 2.00 percent.
The other main external driver of gold, oil prices, added
pressure on the precious metal as they fell to a four-year low
on Thursday. []
Oil has been hit by concerns that a deep recession could
have a severe impact on demand. These outweighed the
price-positive effect of a 400,000-barrel drop in U.S. crude
inventories reported on Wednesday.
Physical demand is easing in some of gold's traditional
markets as traders await price falls. Indian buyers are looking
for prices of around $740 an ounce before making purchases,
dealers reported. []
PLATINUM STEADIES
Platinum prices were steady, but held only a touch over
those of gold, as traders worried about the impact of the
recession on carmakers, who account for around half of all
demand for the white metal.
"Concerns over industrial demand for the metals -
particularly from the auto sector - will continue to keep prices
under pressure for the time being," Standard Bank analyst Leon
Westgate said in a note.
"In the background however, mounting production cutbacks and
mine closures suggest that there may be a very rapid price
recovery once the first signs of increased metals demand start
to emerge," he added.
Spot platinum <XPT=> was quoted at $796.50/816.50 an ounce,
little changed from $793.50 in New York trade late on Wednesday.
Its sister metal palladium was at $170/178 an ounce against
$171.
Zurich Cantonal Bank said holdings of its platinum-backed
exchange-traded fund <ZPLA.S> rose 27 percent to 105,200 ounces
on Dec 1, from 83,000 ounces in September. Its palladium-backed
ETF saw inflows of 12 percent in the same period. []
Among other precious metals, spot silver <XAG=> slipped to
$9.57/9.65 an ounce from $9.63.
The world's largest silver-backed ETF, the iShares Silver
Trust <SLV.A>, said its silver holdings fell 32.24 tonnes to
6,651.79 tonnes on Dec 3. []
(Reporting by Jan Harvey; editing by Sue Thomas)
