* Gold firmer as euro drops, trade thin
* For the technicals on gold, click on []
* Coming Up: U.S. Redbook weekly report; 1255 GMT
(Updates prices, adds quotes)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, June 15 (Reuters) - Gold ticked higher on
Tuesday on safe haven buying after the euro slipped and stock
markets dropped as a downgrade of Greece's debt to junk
reminded investors the debt crisis in Europe was far from over.
But with the risk of a Greek contagion already priced, gold
would have to crack a recent high around $1,230 to sustain the
uptrend and revisit record levels. Gold was about 2.4 percent
below a lifetime high of $1,251.20 struck last week.
Spot gold <XAU=> was at $1,221.00 an ounce by 0208 GMT, up
85 cents from New York's notional close on Monday. Trading was
thin with Chinese speculators away for the Dragon Boat Festival
holiday.
For a graphic showing the spot gold technical outlook,
see:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/WT_20101506085737.jpg
"When we look at the momentum indicators, it's travelling
along quite nicely. It doesn't look overbought or sold on a
relative strength basis," said Mark Pervan, senior commodities
analyst at ANZ.
"I think the downgrade of Greek credit ratings is a timely
reminder not to sell gold. I think that in some degree, a lot
of risk has been priced in, when you talk about Greece. This is
just a reminder, rather than a new development I suspect.
A rally of the euro against the dollar faltered on Tuesday
as investors booked profits and sentiment towards the single
currency remained fragile as euro zone debt worries returned
after Moody's cut Greece's credit rating to junk. []
[].
U.S. gold futures for August delivery <GCQ0> fell $2.0 an
ounce to $1,222.6, extending Monday's fall. Bullion has rallied
to a record high on worries that the European sovereign debt
crisis is spreading and the U.S. economy may be slowing.
"I think there's a bit of bargain hunting after the
downgrade created uncertainty. But China is on holiday and
there's World Cup fever...there's not enough liquidity in the
market," said a bullion dealer in Hong Kong.
"I think the market is still consolidating. There's support
at $1,215 and $1,220, while on the upside, there's a big
resistance at $1,250," he added.
The Nikkei edged down Tuesday, tracking declines in Wall
Street after the downgrade of Greece's debt hurt investor
confidence. [] []
Holdings in The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded
fund, SPDR Gold Trust <GLD.P>, were unchanged at a record high
of 1,306.137 tonnes. []
U.S. crude futures slipped below $75 a barrel on Tuesday
after a 1.8 percent rise a day earlier amid caution over a
downgrade of Greece's debt. []
Precious metals prices at 0208 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 1221.00 0.85 +0.07 11.44
Spot Silver 18.25 0.09 +0.50 8.44
Spot Platinum 1552.75 -4.25 -0.27 5.85
Spot Palladium 455.25 -0.25 -0.05 12.27
TOCOM Gold 3602.00 -43.00 -1.18 10.52
19805
TOCOM Platinum 4605.00 -22.00 -0.48 5.11
7321
TOCOM Silver 54.20 -0.70 -1.28 4.84
134
TOCOM Palladium 1347.00 1.00 +0.07 15.62
56
Euro/Dollar 1.2206
Dollar/Yen 91.55
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Ed Lane)
