* Gold slips as stock markets steel investor thunder
* Rise in gold trust holdings lends some support
* Bullion may face more pressure in europe, U.S.
* Coming Up: U.S. personal income April; 1230 GMT
(Adds details, quotes, updates prices)
By James Regan
SYDNEY, May 28 (Reuters) - Gold eased on Friday as it ran
into competition for investment flows from rallying equities
markets and a stronger U.S. dollar.
Gold however found modest fundamental support via a slight
rise in the SPDR Gold Trust <GLD> to yet another record,
showing global appetite for less risky investments continues on
lingering euro zone debt fears and tensions between South and
North Korea.
"External factors are still giving gold a lift, but the
markets today are more focused on stocks," said a dealer in
Sydney.
"We're not seeing real losses, more just sideways trading,"
he said. "Gold holdings really didn't rise that much compared
to earlier in the week."
Spot gold <XAU=> was quoted at $1,210.55 an ounce at 0506
GMT versus New York's notional close of $1,211.10. Spot has
risen about 3 percent this week, hitting $1,218.35 on Thursday,
its highest level since May 19.
Benchmark U.S. gold futures for June delivery <GCM0> on the
COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange was down
$3.80 at $1,208.10 an ounce.
Rollovers out of the June contract into later-dated issues
dominated COMEX gold trade. First notice day for June futures
is May 28. Anyone still holding June contracts on Friday will
risk taking delivery.
Instead, most players were rolling gold futures positions
into August contracts, with some moving into December. COMEX
August gold <GCQ0> stood at $1,212.60 an ounce versus a
$1,214.40 close.
Data released by the world's largest gold-backed
exchange-traded fund, the SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, showed its
holdings reached a record 1,267.930 tonnes as of May 27 versus
1,267.626 tonnes a day earlier. That is a fraction of the 30
tonne-plus gain recorded between May 25-26.
Japan's Nikkei average rose 1.7 percent and Korean stocks
gained 0.90 percent after Wall Street firmed on news on
Thursday that China still regards Europe as a key investment
market for its foreign-exchange reserves.
The statement by China's central bank also had a wider
soothing effect on jittery financial markets across Southeast
Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
Stronger stock markets during European, then U.S. time
slots later on Friday could steal more thunder from gold, which
had closed higher over the last past three consecutive days on
stepped up-safe haven investments.
U.S. personal spending data for April <USGPC=ECI> later on
Friday is expected to show a rise of 0.3 percent for April,
down only slightly from 0.6 percent in March, which may also
dent gold's safe-haven appeal.
Gold was sitting well below a bullish technical target of
$1,224 an ounce, based on Reuters analysis.
However, spot gold will first likely retrace to $1,200
before testing $1,224.00 as strong resistance at $1,217.45 is
observed - the 61.8 percent Fibonacci retracement level on the
move from $1,248.95 to $1,166.50. []
For a graphic showing the gold technical outlook, see:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/WT_20102705090254.jpg
The euro edged lower on Friday, giving back some of the
hefty gains made the previous day and the yen was also weaker,
encouraging more cross-asset arbitrage profit taking.
Precious metals prices
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 1210.85 -0.25 -0.02 10.51
Spot Silver 18.43 -0.02 -0.11 9.51
Spot Platinum 1556.00 -5.00 -0.32 6.07
Spot Palladium 464.00 2.00 +0.43 14.43
TOCOM Gold 3556.00 16.00 +0.45 9.11
33694
TOCOM Platinum 4576.00 79.00 +1.76 4.36
14606
TOCOM Silver 54.60 1.00 +1.87 5.61
359
TOCOM Palladium 1370.00 72.00 +5.55 17.60
815
Euro/Dollar 1.2299
Dollar/Yen 91.08
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Ed Lane)
