* Gold gains on physical buying, trade thin
* For a technical on gold, click: []
* Coming Up: U.S. New home sales June; 1400 GMT
(Updates prices, adds quotes)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, July 26 (Reuters) - Gold gained on Monday on
bargain hunting and purchases from jewellers but investors were
on the sidelines after a European bank stress test showed few
surprises and failed to spur safe-haven buying last week.
Platinum rose to its strongest in nearly a month on fund
buying driven by gains in equities. Asian shares rose as solid
U.S. corporate earnings and strong euro zone data offset
growing scepticism the stress tests were not strict enough.
[]
Seven of 91 banks failed the stress test of possible losses
in sovereign debt holding, including ones in Greece and Spain,
for an overall capital shortfall of $3.5 billion euros.
[] []
Spot gold <XAU=> rose $3.35 to $1,192.40 an ounce by 0347
GMT after a volatile session on Friday, when it briefly crossed
$1,200 before falling sharply. Gold struck a lifetime high at
$1,264.90 in early June.
For a 24-hour gold technical outlook, see:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/WT/20102607085845.jpg
"There's a bit of buying from jewellery makers. I think
investors are on the sidelines. The price is a bit too high and
there are other things which are more attractive for
investment," said Ronald Leung, director of Lee Cheong Gold
Dealers in Hong Kong.
"Sentiment for gold is a bit flat. Stocks have obviously
been bullish. I think gold may have a chance to test $1,180,"
said Leung, referring to a low seen last week and a possible
shift from gold to equities.
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR
Gold Trust <GLD.P> said its holdings were unchanged at
1,302.046 tonnes. The holdings hit a record at 1,320.436 tonnes
on June 29. U.S. gold futures for August delivery <GCQ0>
added $4.4 to $1,192.2 an ounce after settling nearly $8 lower
following the European stress tests.
"I think we are seeing a combination of a thin market plus
physical buying, especially when prices were hitting lows,"
said a physical dealer in Singapore. "But the demand doesn't
seem to be as tremendous as the last round," he added.
Money managers cut their long, or bullish exposure, to U.S.
gold futures by 18 percent for the week to July 20 as the
precious metal's prices hit two-month lows, trade data on
Friday showed. []
Silver <XAG=> was steady, palladium <XPD=> gained more than
$2, while sister metal platinum <XPT=> rose as high as
$1,550.50 an ounce, its highest since late June.
Analysts see platinum prices rising as a gradual economic
recovery leads to increased demand for the autocatalyst metal,
but some of the euphoria that lifted forecasts earlier this
year has evaporated after a hefty correction in May, a Reuters
poll showed. []
Precious metals prices at 0345 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 1192.40 3.35 +0.28 8.83
Spot Silver 18.16 0.08 +0.44 7.90
Spot Platinum 1547.00 7.55 +0.49 5.45
Spot Palladium 467.00 2.45 +0.53 15.17
TOCOM Gold 3371.00 9.00 +0.27 3.44
22117
TOCOM Platinum 4397.00 81.00 +1.88 0.37
10179
TOCOM Silver 51.80 0.40 +0.78 0.19
279
TOCOM Palladium 1322.00 36.00 +2.80 13.48
153
Euro/Dollar 1.2928
Dollar/Yen 87.61
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Ed Lane)
