* Dollar continues to shape gold's direction
* SPDR Gold holdings <XAUEXT-NYS-TT> fall 3.97 tonnes
By Miho Yoshikawa
TOKYO, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Gold steadied to trade above $955
per ounce on Monday after ending the previous session lower,
drawing support from news that European central banks have
extended an agreement limiting gold sales.
Last week the precious metal retreated from a two-month high
above $970 when the dollar rallied on renewed hopes for an
improvement in the economy.
Bullion drew support from news late last week that a group of
central banks in Europe had renewed the Central Bank Gold
Agreement (CBGA), a pact to limit gold sales for a five-year
period to 400 tonnes a year from 500 tonnes. []
Gold <XAU=> was at $956.45 per ounce at 0559 GMT, up 0.3
percent from the notional close in New York of $953.80.
U.S. gold futures for December delivery <GCZ9> edged down to
$958.20 per ounce after falling $3.4 to $959.50 on Friday.
Yukino Yamada, a senior strategist at Daiwa Institute of
Research, said signs of a recovery for the global economy had
made it easier for money to flow into assets that directly
benefit from this such as stocks and copper.
But she added that gold-backed exchange-traded funds had not
fallen drastically, indicating continued interest in investing in
gold.
"I think we'll see buying if gold should fall to $900," she
said, adding that the dollar will continue to help provide
investors with a means of judging when to invest in gold.
The dollar gained more than 1 percent against a basket of
currencies on Friday <.DXY> after the July U.S. jobs report gave
the clearest indication yet that the economy is turning around
from a deep recession. It retained most of those gains on Monday.
[]
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the
SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, said its holdings stood at 1,068.90 tonnes
as of Aug 7, down 3.97 tonnes or 0.4 percent from the previous
business day. []
Holdings have mostly been falling since hitting a record of
1,134.03 tonnes on June 1.
Noncommercial net long U.S. gold futures positions rose 12
percent to 193,514 lots in the week to Aug. 4 from 172,771 lots,
a weekly report by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission
showed. []
Spot platinum <XPT=> fell to $1,251.50 per ounce, down 0.8
percent from the notional close in New York of $1,261.50.
The metal, used in automobile catalysts and jewellery, has
lost support since South Africa's biggest union said on Saturday
it was considering a wage offer from state power firm Eskom after
marathon talks to avert a strike that could cripple Africa's
biggest economy. []
The nation is by far the world's biggest platinum producer
and also a major gold supplier.
PRICES
Precious metals prices at 0603 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover
Spot Gold 956.25 2.45 +0.26 8.65
Spot Silver 14.64 0.05 +0.34 29.33
Spot Platinum 1251.50 -10.00 -0.79 34.28
Spot Palladium 272.00 -1.00 -0.37 47.43
TOCOM Gold 2999.00 43.00 +1.45 16.56 47743
TOCOM Platinum 3918.00 68.00 +1.77 47.74 14516
TOCOM Silver 458.40 7.80 +1.73 43.56 169
TOCOM Palladium 867.00 46.00 +5.60 57.64 349
Euro/Dollar 1.4206
Dollar/Yen 97.18
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Additional reporting by Risa Maeda; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
