PRECIOUS-Gold holds near 6-week highs as dollar weakens

                                
 * Better-than-expected housing data boosts stocks
                                
 * Dollar slips versus euro as equities rally
                                
 * SPDR, ETF Securities gold ETFs see outflow on Wednesday
                                
 
                                
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 By Jan Harvey
                                
 LONDON, July 23 (Reuters) - Gold held near six-week highs on
Thursday as the dollar weakened against the euro, boosting
interest in hard assets like bullion, after U.S. stock markets
rallied on better-than-expected home sales data.
                                
 Spot gold <XAU=> was bid at $954.90 an ounce at 1439 GMT,
against $950.40 an ounce late in New York on Wednesday. Earlier
it hit a peak of $956.50 an ounce, its highest since June 12.
                                
 U.S. gold futures for August delivery <GCQ9> on the COMEX
division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose $1.80 to
$955.10 an ounce.
                                
 "Dollar weakness is keeping (gold) higher," said Pradeep
Unni, senior analyst at Richcomm Global Services. "Almost all
the recent momentum has come on the back of dollar weakness."
                                
 The dollar initially trimmed losses against the euro in the
wake of a report that showed sales of previously owned homes in
the United States rose faster than expected in June, but later
slipped as U.S. equity markets rose 1 percent. [FRX/]
                                
 The data prompted fresh gains in both U.S. and European
stocks. The Dow Industrials index <.DJI> rose above 9,000 for
the first time since January on an intraday basis. [.N]
                                
 World stocks stabilised near the previous session's nine
month high as forecast-beating company earnings reports fuelled
interest in assets seen as higher risk, such as equities,
commodities and certain higher-yielding currencies. [MKTS/GLOB]
                                
 Oil also jumped as traders were cheered by firmer equities
and the above-consensus home sales data. [O/R]
                                
 The market largely shrugged off a second daily outflow from
the world's largest gold ETF, New York's SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>,
and ETF Securities' smaller London-based gold fund, as interest
shifted to other products, analysts said. [ID:nLN40957]
                                
 
                                
 OFFSET
                                
 "It may be that outflows from things like the ETFs or the
retail base are being offset by more buying of OTC- or
futures-based (products)," said Calyon metals analyst Robin
Bhar.
                                
 Jewellery demand also stayed weak. Indian buyers stayed away
from the market as the weak dollar pushed local prices towards
15,000 rupees per ten grams. [ID:nBOM505331]
                                
 On the supply side, Newmont Mining <NEM.N>, the world's
second largest gold producer, released second-quarter results
that missed analysts' forecasts. The company also lowered its
gold sales target for this year. [ID:nN23315229]
                                
 Among other precious metals, silver <XAG=> was at $13.77 an
ounce against $13.68. In investment news, the ETFS Silver Trust
said it had issued shares backed by physical silver <SIVR> to be
traded on the New York Stock Exchange. [ID:nLN674579]
                                
 Platinum <XPT=> was at $1,178.50 an ounce against $1,172,
while palladium <XPD=> was at $254.50 against $252.50.
                                
 Lonmin <LMI.L>, the world's number three platinum producer,
said its full-year sales will miss its target, but added it was
on track to deliver lower costs. Third quarter production eased
1 percent to 178,494 ounces. [ID:nLM403567]
 (Editing by James Jukwey)