* Gold near NY levels, euro-priced bullion strikes record
* For a technical outlook on gold, click on []
* Coming Up - U.S. Initial weekly jobless claims; 1230 GMT
(Updates prices, adds quotes)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, May 6 (Reuters) - Gold steadied on Thursday
while holdings on the world's biggest bullion-backed ETF hit
another record on euro-zone debt crisis fears, which sent the
euro to a one-year low and sparked a sell-off in stocks.
Gold priced in euro <XAUEUR=R> struck a record as investors
lost faith in the single currency and rushed to buy bullion,
while silver, platinum and palladium bounced higher from
Wednesday's lows.
Spot gold <XAU=> was at $1,174.00 an ounce, barely changed
from New York's notional close on Wednesday, when it dropped to
a one-week low before regaining some strength. Gold rallied to
this year's peak around $1,191 an ounce on Tuesday.
"Gold is behaving more like a flight-to-safety product.
There's a potential for gold to go up together with the U.S.
dollar in this time of uncertainty," said Wong Eng Soon, an
investment analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore.
"The number one uncertainty is of course the contagious
effect of the euro-zone fiscal deficit. The immediate target
will be $1,200," said Wong, referring to a level last seen in
December, when bullion struck record at $1,226.10 an ounce.
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR
Gold Trust <GLD>, said its holdings stood at a record of
1,166.002 tonnes as of May 5, up from 1,159.002 tonnes in the
previous business day. []
U.S. gold futures for June delivery <GCM0> was also steady
at $1,175.1 an ounce.
The euro was pinned near one-year lows against the U.S.
dollar on Thursday as concerns about the sovereign debt crisis
in the euro zone mounted. []
European leaders warned on Wednesday the debt crisis could
spread like a bush fire beyond Greece where anti-austerity
unrest claimed its first lives. []
Japan's Nikkei average slid 3 percent to a two-month low on
Thursday, catching up with falls in other markets after a
string of holidays, as more signs emerged that the fallout from
the Greek debt crisis may spread to bigger European economies.
[] Bullion dealers noted early selling from investors
which sent prices to an intraday low around $1,164 an ounce but
overall sentiment remained bullish. Jewellers were on the
sidelines.
"We've some selling earlier but there are some buybacks
when the Japanese markets opened. We are still bullish on gold
because there's so much uncertainty in the euro zone," said a
dealer in Hong Kong.
"We are also watching the developments in the U.K. Who is
going to win the elections. It's very important," he added.
Gold priced in sterling <XAUGBP=R> hit a record high this
week, partly driven by political uncertain in Britain.
Britons vote on Thursday in what is forecast to be the
closest election since 1992, with the opposition Conservatives
struggling to convert their opinion poll advantage into an
outright majority. [] Precious metals prices at
0231 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 1174.00 -0.20 -0.02 7.15
Spot Silver 17.54 0.11 +0.63 4.22
Spot Platinum 1667.50 42.50 +2.62 13.67
Spot Palladium 509.00 7.50 +1.50 25.52
TOCOM Gold 3552.00 -3.00 -0.08 8.99
38466
TOCOM Platinum 5054.00 -184.00 -3.51 15.36
22271
TOCOM Silver 53.60 -2.80 -4.96 3.68
533
TOCOM Palladium 1538.00 -127.00 -7.63 32.02
861
Euro/Dollar 1.2837
Dollar/Yen 93.85
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Ed Lane)
