* Gold holding near highs; safe haven fears support
* May see downward correction before resuming uptrend
* Coming up: U.S. inflation data at 1230 GMT
(Updates throughout with comments, refreshes prices, changes
dateline, previous SINGAPORE)
By Amanda Cooper
LONDON, June 28 (Reuters) - Gold nosed at last week's record
highs on Monday, buoyed by a dip in the dollar in Asian trading
and worries about the global economy, although a lack of
consumer demand could push prices lower in the near term.
Adding to the supportive backdrop for gold were U.S.
comments that Iran has fissile material for two atomic bombs,
but the prospect of a sharp contraction in demand from India,
the world's largest gold consumer, and no fresh impetus might
mean prices could ease before resuming their recent uptrend.
"I think it needs to correct," said Simon Weeks, head of
precious metals at the Bank of Nova Scotia. "The weaker dollar
and weaker sentiment is probably more positive than negative.
But markets are already pretty long and quite frankly, there is
no huge amount of fresh demand around, so on that basis, I'm
slightly surprised that we are as high as we are," he said.
Weeks said he saw gold prices moving back through $1,230
towards $1,200 an ounce, from current levels, having hit a
record of $1,264.90 last Monday.
Spot gold <XAU=> rose $2.45 to $1,255.80 an ounce by 1000
GMT, while U.S. gold futures for August delivery <GCQ0> rose 70
cents to at $1,256.90 an ounce.
The dollar was holding roughly steady against a basket of
six major currencies <.DXY>, but is still hovering around its
lowest in six weeks as concern about the pace of U.S. recovery
persisted and after data showed speculators cut back their bets
on the greenback last week. []
Coming up at 1230 GMT is U.S. core inflation data for May.
The so-called core PCE index is the Federal Reserve's favoured
measure of price pressures.
The head of the Bombay Bullion Association said on Monday
that gold imports into top consumer India likely fell by 75
percent in June from 29.9 tonnes a year ago. Suresh Hundia,
president of BBA told Reuters this bearish estimate could be
overly optimstic and the final figures could be lower than this.
"The numbers are so bad, nobody wants to share it this
time," he said referring to the importing banks and trading
agencies which contribute their data to the trade body.
[]
STILL A SAFE HAVEN
But ongoing doubt about the resilience of the global
economic recovery and comments from the head of the CIA that
Iran may have enough fissile material to make two atomic
weapons, maintained support for gold.
"The underlying safe haven concerns that have supported
prices -- the economic environment, Europe's fiscal outlook and
the longer term prospects for inflation, remain," said David
Moore, commodities strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
"The G20 hasn't had a significant impact on markets, and
while concerns about Iran's nuclear capacity are nothing new,
there seems to be additional clarity."
With this in mind, gold could rise further to surpass the
June 21 record at $1,264.90 per ounce to touch $1,270, as
bullish momentum is strong, according to Reuters technical
analyst Wang Tao.
He noted the bulls were taking control with prices in an
ascending channel from a $1,224.30 low struck last Wednesday and
sharp rises and mild falls. []
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The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR
Gold Trust <GLD.P> said its holdings remained unchanged at an
all-time high at 1,316.177 tonnes. []
U.S. lawmakers hammered out a historic overhaul of financial
regulations, handing President Barack Obama a major domestic
policy victory. [] []
"The U.S. regulations are pretty worrying. That's something
that we will need to look at more closely," a commodities
trading source in Singapore said.
"So far, people are taking a wait-and-see attitude and it's
hard to assess the impact on prices."
Dozens of House Democrats had threatened to vote against a
ban on swaps trading on grounds the trade would move overseas.
Instead a compromise solution allows banks to stay involved
in foreign-exchange and interest-rate swaps dealing, which form
the bulk of the $615 trillion over-the-counter derivatives
market.
Elsewhere, silver <XAG=> was up at $19.11 an ounce, from
$19.04 late in New York on Friday, while in the platinum group
metals complex, platinum <XPT=> rose 1 percent to $1,582.05 and
palladium <XPD=> was up about 0.7 percent at $477.65.
(Additional reporting by Nick Trevethan in Singapore)
(Editing by Keiron Henderson)
