* Gold near 8-week high, physical market thin
* Technicals point upward to $1,250/oz []
* Coming Up: U.S. initial jobless claims Weekly; 1230 GMT
(Updates prices, adds quotes)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Gold was steady on Thursday,
hovering near its strongest level in eight weeks hit the
previous day, with worries that the U.S. economic recovery was
stalling likely to drive the metal to new highs.
Silver rose to its highest level in nearly two months as
its cheapness versus other precious metals attracted bargain
buying. Platinum group metals held near New York levels ahead
of the release of U.S. initial jobless claims data.
Spot gold <XAU=> added 30 cents to $1,239.30 an ounce by
0220 GMT, having risen as high as $1,241.35 on Wednesday after
the release of weaker-than-expected U.S. durable goods orders.
Gold struck a lifetime high around $1,264 in June.
For a graphic of the 24-hour gold technical outlook,
click:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/WT/20102608091737.jpg
"Gold is reluctant to weaken considerably and looks for every
opportunity to strengthen. I still don't see it really moving
substantially lower in the short term, while the ETF investors
are still on board," said Darren Heathcote, head of trading at
Investec Australia in Sydney.
"Whilst we are getting any negative data, you can expect
gold to benefit," he added.
U.S. gold futures for December delivery <GCZ0> were barely
changed at $1,241.4 an ounce after hitting an 8-week high on
Wednesday.
Recent poor economic data from the United States stoked
fears of a double-dip recession, which prompted some investors
to ditch stocks and shift to bullion.
Holdings of the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded
fund, the SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, jumped nearly 13 tonnes last
week, its biggest one-week climb since early June. []
"I think there is a possibility for gold to test a new high
because we've managed to break through $1,240 mark," said a
dealer in Singapore. "Silver is also tracking gold prices
because historically, there's always a high correlation between
the two assets."
The U.S. dollar was under pressure on Thursday after U.S.
data the previous day heightened fears the world's biggest
economy was at risk of another downturn, while a weaker yen
spurred buying on TOCOM gold futures <0#JAU:>. []
The physical sector was muted after selling by bullion
dealers resurfaced late on Wednesday as gold struck a new high,
keeping premiums for gold bars unchanged at 80 cents in
Singapore.
High prices cut the premium in Tokyo to zero from 25 cents
last week, but steady physical demand from the electronics
sector prevented it from falling further.
"The investment side is boring and there's not much
activity there, but demand from the industrial side is still
very much steady," said a dealer in Tokyo.
The Nikkei was flat on Thursday, buoyed by short-covering
and buying of futures but with gains capped by a lack of policy
moves to rein in the yen's strength as well as fears of
longer-term policy inaction prompted by a murky political
outlook. []
The World Gold Council said in its quarterly demand trends
report that India and China were likely to provide the main
thrust to demand growth this year and predicted investment
demand would stay strong. []
Precious metals prices at 0220 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 1239.30 0.30 +0.02 13.11
Spot Silver 18.98 0.05 +0.26 12.77
Spot Platinum 1529.00 2.00 +0.13 4.23
Spot Palladium 492.75 0.75 +0.15 21.52
TOCOM Gold 3385.00 34.00 +1.01 3.87
19788
TOCOM Platinum 4192.00 65.00 +1.57 -4.31
7815
TOCOM Silver 52.10 1.60 +3.17 0.77
554
TOCOM Palladium 1349.00 19.00 +1.43 15.79
127
Euro/Dollar 1.2683
Dollar/Yen 84.68
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
