* Gold ticks up, ETF holdings firmer
* Coming Up: U.S. ICSC chain stores yy Weekly; 1245 GMT
(Updates prices, adds premiums in Hong Kong)
By Lewa Pardomuan
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 Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's sons, Saadi, said 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. But two Arab newspapers and al
Jazeera television said Gaddafi was looking for an agreement
allowing him to step down.
Spot gold hardly moved, standing at $1,430.55 an
ounce by 0504 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.
Brent crude fell below $115 on Tuesday on the reports that
Gaddafi was looking for a way to step down and end the fighting
that has slashed the nation's exports, and investors were also
soothed by OPEC assurances of supply to the market.
U.S. gold futures for April fell $3.1 an ounce to
$1,431.4 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 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."
Premiums in Hong Kong were steady at $1 to $1.50 to the spot
London prices.
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
funds. 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 0504 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover
Spot Gold 1430.55 -0.19 -0.01 0.78
Spot Silver 35.82 -0.03 -0.08 16.07
Spot Platinum 1807.50 -8.99 -0.49 2.26
Spot Palladium 780.00 -5.97 -0.76 -2.44
TOCOM Gold 3793.00 -20.00 -0.52 1.72 48890
TOCOM Platinum 4858.00 -68.00 -1.38 3.45 18579
TOCOM Silver 94.40 -1.20 -1.26 16.54 1967
TOCOM Palladium 2075.00 -89.00 -4.11 -1.05 587
Euro/Dollar 1.3986
Dollar/Yen 82.22
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in per ounce.
(Reporting by Lewa Pardomuan; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
