* Gold edges up in slow trade, eyes on EU summit
* Euro steady, oil moves towards $75, gold ETF flat
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Gold ticked higher on
Thursday as the euro steadied against the U.S. dollar ahead of
a European Union summit that may decide to help debt-laden
Greece avoid default and eventually restore confidence in the
single currency.
Gold has dropped 12 percent since striking a record at
$1,226.10 in December as the dollar gained on mounting fiscal
worries in the eurozone, and recently on U.S. Federal Reserve
Chairman Ben Bernanke's comments about a stimulus pullback.
Spot gold <XAU=> was quoted at $1,078.35 an ounce by 0308
GMT, up $6.80 from New York's notional close on Wednesday,
still within sight of a three-month low of $1,043.75 hit last
week.
"Obviously the anticipation is that we're going to get some
good news as far as support for Greece is concerned," said
Darren Heathcote, head of trading at Investec Australia in
Sydney.
"If the dollar does unwind tonight, if we get a good result
from the European Council, then you can expect that gold is
going to go higher. We'll certainly be targeting $1,100 again.
Once the dust settles, gold will be higher," said Heathcote,
referring to a high seen last week.
Other precious metals held New York levels, with platinum
<XPT=> holding near a 5-week low. U.S. gold futures for April
delivery <GCJO> added $2.7 an ounce to $1,079 an ounce.
European Union leaders will hold a summit on the economy
Thursday and there was growing speculation a package would be
hammered out for Greece. See [].
The euro <EUR=> held steady at $1.3732, having fallen 0.4
percent on Wednesday. It has dropped more than 4 percent this
year on mounting worries over how some eurozone countries like
Greece, Portugal and Spain will service their debt. []
In his most comprehensive description to date of how the
Fed aims to withdraw its stimulus, Bernanke said the U.S.
central bank could soon raise the discount rate it charges
banks for emergency loans, but stressed that would not be akin
to a tightening in monetary policy. See []
In theory, a firmer dollar reduces gold's appeal as an
alternative investment.
Trading was thin in Asia due to the absence of Japanese
players and ahead of the Lunar New Year, although a steadier
euro spurred bargain-hunting in Hong Kong.
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR
Gold Trust <GLD>, said its holdings stood at 1,106.378 tonnes
as of Feb. 10, unchanged from the previous business day.
[]
Oil <CLc1> climbed toward $75 a barrel on Thursday,
extending the previous session's gains, lifted by an upbeat oil
demand growth estimate by the U.S. Energy Information
Administration.
Precious metals prices at 0308 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
r
Spot Gold 1078.35 6.80 +0.63 -1.58
Spot Silver 15.43 0.25 +1.65 -8.32
Spot Platinum 1515.00 8.00 +0.53 3.27
Spot Palladium 413.00 1.50 +0.36 1.85
TOCOM Gold 3097.00 -15.00 -0.48 -4.97
17699
TOCOM Platinum 4307.00 6.00 +0.14 -1.69
3842
TOCOM Silver 45.10 -0.10 -0.22 -12.77
35
TOCOM Palladium 1192.00 -5.00 -0.42 2.32
45
Euro/Dollar 1.3782
Dollar/Yen 89.89
(Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
