* SPDR Gold Trust holdings hit record at 1,152.913 T
* For short-term technical analysis, see []
* Coming Up: Euro zone economic sentiment index; 0900 GMT
By James Regan
SYDNEY, April 29 (Reuters) - Gold edged up on Thursday,
following a surge in the previous session to its highest this
year as a knee-jerk reaction to rising concerns about European
sovereign debt gave way to hope a resolution may soon be
reached.
"There was relief that there wasn't any more bad news last
night. The feeling in markets now is that the events of the
past couple of days have stung the authorities into action, and
a positive resolution of the euro debt issues is more likely,"
said Ben Westmore, commodities economist at National Australia
Bank.
"I am pretty much flat on prices from here, with a rise in
the second half, as consumption in China and India picks up and
the dollar declines from current levels."
Spot gold <XAU=> was quoted at $1,167.00 by 0803 GMT versus
a notional close of $1,164.45 on Wednesday. Intraday trading on
Wednesday saw bullion climb to $1,174.18, the highest since
Dec. 4, 2009.
Investors ploughed into exchange-traded gold funds after
Greek contagion fears were fuelled by Standard & Poor's
downgrade of Spain following downgrades for Greece and Portugal
before calming on an upbeat U.S. economic outlook.
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the
SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, said holdings hit a record 1,152.913
tonnes as of April 28, up 6.088 tonnes from the previous
business day. It was the third record this week.
"We've been seeing large flows into gold because of
concerns of sovereign risk and downgrades occurring in Europe
and that is likely to continue," said David Moore, a gold
analyst for Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
"It doesn't surprise me the ETFs are up. People are looking
to avoid risk," he said.
Gold is sometimes called a currency of fear because of its
appeal to investors in times of economic turmoil stemming from
a negative to low correlation with other major asset classes.
S&P lowered Spain's long-term rating by one notch to AA,
still investment grade and just two notches under AAA. The move
follows steeper cuts on Portugal and Greece on Tuesday.
The euro <EUR=> was flat on Thursday, having rallied from
one-year lows on Wednesday after the U.S. Federal Reserve's
policy statement boosted appetite for risk.
The Fed offered a more positive view of the U.S. economy
even as it left interest rates on hold near zero and promised
to keep them low for an extended period.[]
"The mess in Europe and tentative signs of recovery coming
from the U.S. are what we're watching," a bullion dealer in
Sydney said.
U.S. gold futures for June delivery <GCM0> on the COMEX
division of the NYMEX were down at $1,168.10 an ounce.
On technical charts, gold is moving in a channel between
$1,190 per ounce on the topside and $1,160 on the bottom. A
fall below $1,160 could drive gold to $1,145. []
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
For a graphic showing the metal's technical outlook, see:
http://link.reuters.com/kad89j
For an interactive graphic showing the relative performance
of various commodities in 2010, click on:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/10/CMD_PRFG0410.swf
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
Platinum <XPT=> was at $1,708.00 an ounce, above the
one-week low of $1,695 an ounce recorded on Wednesday.
Palladium <XPD=> was at $540 an ounce, while silver <XAG=>
fetched $18.05 an ounce.
Precious metals prices at 0803 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 1167.10 2.65 +0.23 6.52
Spot Silver 18.05 -0.01 -0.06 7.25
Spot Platinum 1708.00 1.00 +0.06 16.43
Spot Palladium 540.00 1.50 +0.28 33.17
TOCOM Gold 3522.00 19.00 +0.54 8.07
13078
TOCOM Platinum 5167.00 -12.00 -0.23 17.83
5720
TOCOM Silver 54.70 -0.30 -0.55 5.80
98
TOCOM Palladium 1627.00 -22.00 -1.33 39.66
574
Euro/Dollar 1.3206
Dollar/Yen 94.04
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Himani Sarkar)
