* Gold pares gains after brief push above $960
* SPDR Gold holdings <XAUEXT-NYS-TT> steady
By Miho Yoshikawa
TOKYO, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Gold held steady near $955 an ounce
on Monday on a weaker dollar and firm oil prices, after
retreating from an earlier peak near a three-week high marked
late last week.
Trading has largely been confined to a range of $930 to $960
during the past three months, with gold pressured by a resurgent
dollar but underpinned by inflation worries and uncertainty about
the economy.
Gold <XAU=> rose as high as $960.35 per ounce, up 0.6 percent
on the day, before drifting down to $956.20 by 0238 GMT.
"$960 is the resistance level we have been seeing since the
latter half of August, and gold remains technically vulnerable
around that level," said Shuji Sugata, a manager at Tokyo's
Mitsubishi Corporation Futures & Securities.
Sugata said higher oil prices, which fan inflation fears,
were supportive for gold. Gold is often bought as a hedge against
inflation.
"And we also have crude oil fairly solid as it continues to
trade around $70," he said.
U.S. gold futures for December delivery <GCZ9> were at
$958.40 an ounce, down 0.04 percent.
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the
SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, said holdings stood at 1,061.83 tonnes as
of Aug. 28, unchanged since Aug. 25. []
Noncommercial net long U.S. gold futures positions rose 3.1
percent to 182,982 lots in the week to Aug. 25 from 177,530 lots,
a weekly report by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission
showed. []
The yen rose to its highest in seven weeks against the dollar
on Monday, boosted by the end of election uncertainty following a
thumping win for the opposition Democratic Party of Japan. []
Japanese voters swept the opposition to a historic victory in
an election on Sunday, ousting the ruling conservative party and
handing the untested Democrats the job of breathing life into a
struggling economy. []
U.S. crude oil <CLc1> rose to extend gains above $73 on
Monday, supported by a weaker dollar and hopes for a rise in
world energy demand, though it later shaved some of its gains.
[]
Platinum <XPT=> has been supported by a strike at South
Africa's Impala Platinum <IMPJ.J>, the world's No. 2 producer of
the metal.
Union officials said on Saturday there is no scheduled
meeting to resume negotiations between workers and the company.
[]
Platinum inched down 0.3 percent to $1,240 an ounce from
$1,244 yen.
"Platinum's been a bit slow to react to news about the strike
in South Africa ... which could be due to the view that the
strike won't last that long," said Sugata.
The metal, used for jewellery and in auto catalysts, was also
under some downward pressure on news that suggested weak demand.
Toyota Motor Corp <7203.T>, the world's largest automaker,
said last week it would halt a production line in Japan as it
looks to cut excess capacity to return to profitability.
[]
PRICES
Precious metals prices at 0236 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover
Spot Gold 956.20 1.75 +0.18 8.64
Spot Silver 14.72 -0.02 -0.14 30.04
Spot Platinum 1241.00 -3.00 -0.24 33.15
Spot Palladium 287.00 0.00 +0.00 55.56
TOCOM Gold 2863.00 -8.00 -0.28 11.27 30913
TOCOM Platinum 3717.00 -25.00 -0.67 40.16 6087
TOCOM Silver 438.80 3.80 +0.87 37.43 332
TOCOM Palladium 863.00 -6.00 -0.69 56.91 437
Euro/Dollar 1.4300
Dollar/Yen 92.71
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Reporting by Miho Yoshikawa; Editing by Chris Gallagher)
