* Gold ticks up, ETF holdings firmer
* Coming Up: U.S. ICSC chain stores yy Weekly; 1245 GMT
(Updates prices, adds quotes)
SINGAPORE, March 8 (Reuters) - Gold held steady on Tuesday below a record
high hit in the previous session, while a rebound in ETF holdings suggested that
investors remained jittery about high oil prices and related unrest in North
Africa and the Middle East.
One of Muammar Gaddafi's sons, Saadi, said on Monday his father had not yet
thrown his army into full battle against rebels, saving it to shield Libya
against foreign attack, and civil war could erupt if he did.
Spot gold hardly moved at $1,430.54 an ounce by 0313 GMT, having
rallied as high as $1,444.40 an ounce on Monday, a record high, as violence
flared in Libya and after the downgrade of Greece's credit rating reignited
worries about euro zone sovereign debt.
"It seems people are buying at the lower end. I think there's not much room
to go on the downside. It may fall by $10 or so, and then people will buy back,"
said Ronald Leung, director of Lee Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong.
"People are still bullish on a short and medium term."
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust ,
said its holdings edged up to 1,217.295 tonnes by March 7 from 1,210.621 tonnes
on March 3, which was a 9-1/2 month low.
U.S. crude slid from a 2-1/2-year peak on Tuesday on growing concern that
economic growth in oil-importing emerging markets may slow on sustained high
prices triggered by unrest across the Middle East and North Africa.
U.S. gold futures for April fell $2.9 an ounce to $1,431.6 an ounce
after striking a record at $1,445.70 on Monday.
Bargain hunting helped gold defy pressure from a correction in oil prices,
although there were also worries that inflation could prompt countries to raise
interest rates, which could eventually curb demand for commodities.
"We've seen light buying from the physical side but there's nothing great so
far," said a dealer in Singapore. "There's a small volume of scrap export from
Indonesia, and premiums for gold bars remain at $1."
Emerging market economies that powered the global recovery may be growing
too fast for their own good as inflation pressures build, a top International
Monetary Fund official said on Monday.
China, Brazil and other fast-growing nations have struggled to contain
inflation and control heavy inflows of investment money. Although the IMF has
been warning for months of the risks of price pressure, the comments by the
Fund's first deputy managing director, John Lipsky, suggested the IMF is growing
increasingly concerned
Silver was steady after rising as high as $36.70 an ounce on Monday,
a 31-year peak, on the back of rising gold prices and physical demand from
China.
"I heard some big importers have bought silver because of talk the price
will go up as high as $120 an ounce. But I think the main reason why people are
buying silver is because the price is much cheaper than gold," said a dealer in
Hong Kong.
Platinum and palladium tracked declines in equities.
In other markets, the euro stalled on Tuesday, while Asian stocks remained
under pressure as investors fretted that higher energy prices would stunt the
global economic recovery.
Market players have been focused on the prospect of a European Central Bank
interest rate rise as early as next month, but the euro zone debt crisis
returned to the fore on Monday, when Moody's slashed Greece's sovereign rating
by three notches.
Precious metals prices 0313 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover
Spot Gold 1430.54 -0.20 -0.01 0.78
Spot Silver 35.76 -0.09 -0.25 15.88
Spot Platinum 1808.00 -8.49 -0.47 2.29
Spot Palladium 784.00 -1.97 -0.25 -1.94
TOCOM Gold 3795.00 -18.00 -0.47 1.77 43171
TOCOM Platinum 4861.00 -65.00 -1.32 3.51 15539
TOCOM Silver 94.40 -1.20 -1.26 16.54 1763
TOCOM Palladium 2081.00 -83.00 -3.84 -0.76 529
Euro/Dollar 1.3972
Dollar/Yen 82.28
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Reporting by Lewa Pardomuan; Editing by Ed Lane)
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