* Gold steadies, trades around $885
* Growing optimism about economy weighs on gold
* SPDR Gold Trust <XAUEXT-NYS-TT> holdings unchanged
By Miho Yoshikawa
TOKYO, May 1 (Reuters) - Gold prices held steady on Friday
around $885 in thin holiday trade, though budding economic
optimism has taken some of the sheen off the precious metal as
a safe-haven asset.
Investors have been shifting more of their money into other
assets, notably stocks. Equity markets around the world logged
their best monthly gain in years in April after U.S. economic
data raised hopes the deep recession may be easing. []
"The market seems to be focusing mainly on data that
suggests the financial world is stabilising," said Shuji
Sugata, a manager at Mitsubishi Corp Futures & Securities in
Tokyo.
Analysts said, however, that it was too premature to write
off gold, which is down more than 10 percent from February's
11-month high above $1,000.
Sugata noted that there were still a slew of events and
data that merited watching for their impact on the gold market.
These included the release of stress tests results of U.S
banks expected next week [], the spread of the new
flu strain and the impact of Chrysler LLC's bankruptcy filing
[], he said.
Koji Suzuki, a senior analyst at SBI Futures Co Ltd, said
he was optimistic about gold's long-term prospects.
"I think gold will be bought if it falls below $880," he
said.
Sugata added that gold was still being bought on dips.
Gold <XAU=> was at $885.20 per ounce by 0442 GMT, down 0.03
percent from New York's notional close of $885.50 on Thursday.
U.S. gold futures for June delivery <GCM9> were at $886.20
per ounce, down $5 from the New York settlement.
Activity was slow, however, as many markets in Asia were
closed on Friday for a holiday, while Japanese markets will be
shut for "Golden Week" holidays next Monday to Wednesday.
"Much of today's activity is position adjustments ahead of
the long holiday," Suzuki said.
Gold fell on Thursday as better market sentiment towards
the global economy and the metal's failure to hold above $900
an ounce tempted investors to take profits.
With investors shifting funds to equities, the holdings of
the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the SPDR
Gold Trust <GLD>, were unchanged at 1,104.45 tonnes, where they
have been since April 23. []
For details on the gold holdings of the ETF listed in New
York and also co-listed on other exchanges, click on:
http://www.exchangetradedgold.com/iframes/usa.php
The trust's gold assets fell 23 tonnes in April after
rising more than 98 tonnes in the preceding four weeks.
U.S. automaker Chrysler's move is unlikely to have much
impact on demand for platinum group metals used in
autocatalysts, traders said.
Spot platinum <XPT=> was at $1,096 an ounce, up a touch
from late Thursday's quote of $1,098.
Japan's Nikkei average rose 1.1 percent on Friday, buoyed
as the yen weakened to a near two-week low against the dollar.
[]
U.S. stocks fell on Thursday after Chrysler's bankruptcy
filing undercut optimism about upbeat corporate profits and
reassuring job market data, but the S&P 500 closed out its best
month in nine years. []
PRICES
Precious metals prices at 0437 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 885.00 -0.50 -0.06 0.55
Spot Silver 12.31 -0.03 -0.24 8.75
Spot Platinum 1096.00 -2.00 -0.18 17.60
Spot Palladium 215.00 0.00 +0.00 16.53
TOCOM Gold 2823.00 -7.00 -0.25 9.72
11141
TOCOM Platinum 3489.00 -14.00 -0.40 31.56
7121
TOCOM Silver 390.00 -9.90 -2.48 22.14
179
TOCOM Palladium 697.00 -6.00 -0.85 26.73
214
Euro/Dollar 1.3252
Dollar/Yen 98.80
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 Chikako Mogi)
(Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
