PRECIOUS-Gold firms a day after sell-off, dollar in focus

                                
 * Eyes also on key data, including ISM, jobs report from U.S.
                                
 * SPDR Gold holdings <XAUEXT-NYS-TT> fall 0.46 pct on Tuesday
                                
 By Risa Maeda
                                
 TOKYO, July 1 (Reuters) - Gold edged higher on Wednesday,
taking a breather after falling more than 1 percent the previous
day when a stronger dollar prompted broad-based selling across
the commodities sector.
                                
 The dollar is likely to stay as a key driver for gold in the
near term and the strength it derives from risk-averse investor
demand is expected to be tested by upcoming data including
Wednesday's U.S. manufacturing report by the Institute for Supply
Management and Thursday's U.S. payrolls report, traders said.
                                
 Spot gold <XAU=> rose to a high of $929.80 an ounce before
trading at $929.60 at 0319 GMT, up 0.4 percent from New York's
notional close of $925.85.
                                
 Bullion hit a two-week high of $948.20 late last week.
                                
 U.S. gold futures for August delivery <GCQ9> were at $930.10
an ounce, up 0.3 percent from the previous settlement on the
COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
                                
 On Tuesday, gold bullion fell as low as $922.60, the lowest
since June 24, as the dollar recovered <.DXY> after an unexpected
drop in U.S. consumer confidence data.
                                
 "My thoughts are that gold is likely to remain in rangebound
for this week," said Adrian Koh, an analyst at Phillip Futures in
Singapore.
                                
 Although investors are set to scrutinise upcoming data as
trading cues for the dollar and gold, the precious metal is
likely to stay within a range of between $900 and $950, he said.
                                
 Investors nowadays consider gold as an insurance against the
falling value of dollar-denominated portfolios.
                                
 Reflecting investors' receding appetite for gold, holdings by
the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the SPDR
Gold Trust <GLD>, fell again on Tuesday. [GOL/SPDR]
                                
 Its holdings stood at 1,120.55 tonnes as of June 30, down
5.19 tonnes or 0.46 percent from the previous business day. The
holdings lost 13.48 tonnes from a record high marked on June 1.
                                
 Holdings in the trust, which issues securities backed by
physical stocks of gold, have declined in the past few weeks as
growing optimism about the global economy sapped investors'
appetite for bullion as a safe-haven asset. <XAUEXT-NYS-TT>.
                                
 Also, a reversal in a rally in global stock markets by
mid-June has eased inflation concerns and reduced its appeal as a
hedge against rising prices.
                                
 "We should look at the U.S. jobs report first before making
any decision. If there are signs of inflation and stocks move
higher afterwards, that would be a plus for gold," said a manager
at a Japanese trading firm.
 Precious metals prices at 0328 GMT
 Metal             Last    Change  Pct chg  YTD pct chg  Turnover
 Spot Gold         929.70    3.85   +0.42      5.63
 Spot Silver        13.65    0.08   +0.59     20.58
 Spot Platinum    1170.00   -2.50   -0.21     25.54
 Spot Palladium    248.00    0.00   +0.00     34.42
 TOCOM Gold       2907.00  -11.00   -0.38     12.98        22225
 TOCOM Platinum   3671.00  -40.00   -1.08     38.42         7723
 TOCOM Silver      425.50  -12.50   -2.85     33.26          295
 TOCOM Palladium   782.00    1.00   +0.13     42.18          106
 Euro/Dollar       1.4030
 Dollar/Yen         96.83
 TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams.  Spot prices in $ per ounce.
 (Reporting by Risa Maeda; Editing by Michael Watson)