* Gold rises to 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)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Gold rose to its strongest in
eight weeks on Thursday as the dollar slipped against the euro,
with worries that the U.S. economic recovery was stalling
likely to drive the metal to new highs.
Silver rose to its highest in nearly two months as its
cheaper price 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 $2.30 to $1,241.30 an ounce by 0546
GMT, having hit a high of $1,241.65, its highest since early
July. Gold struck a lifetime high around $1,264 in June, partly
driven by worries about a slowdown in the U.S. economy.
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."
U.S. gold futures for December delivery <GCZ0> rose $1.8 to
$1,243.1 an ounce, having also hit an 8-week high.
Recent poor economic data from the United States, including
weaker-than-expected U.S. durable goods orders, 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 the $1,240 mark," said a
dealer in Singapore. "Silver is also tracking gold, because
historically, there's a high correlation between the two."
The U.S. dollar was under pressure on Thursday after the
previous day's poor data fed 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 flat 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 -- there's not much activity there,
but demand from the industrial side is still very much steady,"
said a dealer in Tokyo.
Asian stocks gained on Thursday on bargain hunting but
concern about exposure to riskier assets weighed on the market
on global recession risk fears. []
India and China are likely to provide the main thrust to
demand growth this year, the World Gold Council said in its
quarterly demand trends report, predicting that investment
demand would stay strong. []
Precious metals prices at 0546 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 1241.30 2.30 +0.19 13.29
Spot Silver 19.04 0.11 +0.58 13.13
Spot Platinum 1535.50 8.50 +0.56 4.67
Spot Palladium 495.00 3.00 +0.61 22.07
TOCOM Gold 3394.00 43.00 +1.28 4.14
27909
TOCOM Platinum 4219.00 92.00 +2.23 -3.70
11509
TOCOM Silver 52.40 1.90 +3.76 1.35
721
TOCOM Palladium 1355.00 25.00 +1.88 16.31
217
Euro/Dollar 1.2711
Dollar/Yen 84.81
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
