* Gold rebounds from lows, trade erratic
* For the technical outlook for gold, see []
* Coming Up: U.S. consumer credit for April; 1900 GMT
(Updates prices)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, June 7 (Reuters) - Gold bounced from lows on
Monday, with bullion priced in euro striking a record after the
single currency slumped, but trade was likely to remain erratic
as investors watch currencies gyrate.
Dealers shrugged off the first decline in holdings on the
SPDR Gold Trust in a month and a half, saying mounting worries
about the euro zone's debt problems meant there was no change
in bullion's safe-haven appeal.
While silver <XAG=> steadied, platinum group metals
suffered as industrial metals and stock markets crumbled on
fears Europe's debt crisis was spreading to Hungary. []
Spot gold <XAU=> was at $1,217.85 an ounce by 0552 GMT,
down 15 cents from New York's notional close on Friday, when
the metal hit its weakest since May 25 around $1,196.
Gold priced in euros <XAUEUR=R> struck a record around
1,025 euro after the single currency plunged to its lowest in
more than four years against the U.S. dollar. In dollar terms
gold is about 2.4 percent below a record hit in May.
"There is speculation that the European debt crisis has
spread from western Europe to eastern Europe," said Wong Eng
Soon, investment analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore.
"Fears will definitely cause people to be more optimistic
on gold. It's very clear that U.S. dollar and gold are the
preferred safe-haven holdings."
Hungary is likely to take months to regain the trust of
financial markets after politicians in its new government made
controversial comments comparing its fiscal problems to the
Greek debt crisis. []
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For a graphic on gold in various currencies, click:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/10/CMD_GLDPRF0610.gif
For a graphic on SPDR gold holding flows, click:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/10/GLD_SPDRVL0610.gif
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"In our view, the strategy in an environment of currency
devaluation and weak growth is to consider the benefits of real
tangible assets as an effective store of wealth," said Mathew
Kaleel, who heads commodities fund manager H3 Global Advisors
in Sydney.
"And indirect currencies such as gold, which should
continue to perform well if current conditions persist."
The euro plunged to four-year lows on Monday and stock
markets dropped after disappointing U.S. job data cast doubt on
the strength of its economic recovery and as Hungary's debt
problems spurred investors to dump riskier assets. [] []
U.S. gold futures for August delivery <GCQ0> added $2.1 an
ounce to $1,219.8 an ounce after hitting a low around $1,216.
"Gold is going to be choppy for a while, waiting for data
coming out of the United States," said a dealer in Hong Kong.
"There's a drop in SPDR holdings but the amount is small.
But we've got to see if it will continue falling. If it dropped
by 10 to 20 tonnes, people will be worried."
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the
SPDR Gold Trust, said its holdings totalled 1,286.359 tonnes as
of June 4, down from 1,289.839 tonnes previously. []
Oil fell nearly 2 percent on Monday, extending the previous
session's steep decline, dragged lower by the disappointing U.S
jobs data and worries about Hungary. []
Precious metals prices at 0552 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 1217.85 -0.15 -0.01 11.15
Spot Silver 17.39 0.04 +0.23 3.33
Spot Platinum 1498.95 -11.05 -0.73 2.18
Spot Palladium 417.73 -6.02 -1.42 3.02
TOCOM Gold 3585.00 -8.00 -0.22 10.00
50568
TOCOM Platinum 4428.00 -187.00 -4.05 1.07
23037
TOCOM Silver 51.70 -2.20 -4.08 0.00
772
TOCOM Palladium 1238.00 -103.00 -7.68 6.27
518
Euro/Dollar 1.1933
Dollar/Yen 91.26
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Additional reporting by James Regan in SYDNEY; Editing by
Michael Urquhart)
