(Updates prices to afternoon, adds premiums in Tokyo)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, May 7 (Reuters) - Gold held steady on Wednesday,
hovering near a one-week high hit the previous day, after crude
oil powered to another record and spurred buying of the
precious metal by investors seeking to hedge against inflation.
An increase in gold holdings in the world's largest
exchange-traded fund (ETF) for bullion, StreetTRACKS Gold
Shares <XAUEXT-NYS-TT>, suggested investors were putting their
money back into gold after a drop to a four-month low last
week.
Gold <XAU=> hit an intraday high of $881.05 an ounce, not
far from Tuesday's one-week high of $882.70, before slipping to
$877.75/878.75 an ounce, steady from $877.40/878.60 late in New
York.
"Fund money gradually enters the market. The ETF turnover
has increased a little bit," said Yukuji Sonoda, a precious
metals analyst at Daiichi Commodities in Tokyo.
"This is a good sign. I do hope this is a turning point."
Gold held in StreetTRACKS Gold Shares rose to 584.44 tonnes
from 580.45 tonnes last week but this was still down from a
record of 663.83 tonnes in mid-March.
Gold struck a record $1,030.80 an ounce on March 17 but
attempts to recapture that level have been met by profit
taking. It tumbled to its lowest in four months to $845 an
ounce last week after a rebound in the dollar.
Crude oil <CLc1> steadied ahead of U.S. inventory data
after hitting a record above $122 a barrel on Tuesday due to a
weakeningdollar, supply concerns and a forecast of oil reaching
$200 abarrel within two years. []
"Gold is getting a bit of support from oil at the moment
but I think gold is still a bit weak compared with other
commodities," said a dealer in Singapore.
"I think the topside will be in the region of $890 to $900
for spot gold. On the downside, a move back below $870 may
bring us back to the $845 level. Also, we've got to watch how
oil moves today."
Gold futures for June delivery <GCM8> on the COMEX division
of the New York Mercantile Exchange added $2.0 an ounce to
$879.6 an ounce.
In the physical market, steady demand from the electronics
sector and a tight supply pushed up premiums for gold bars in
Tokyo to 50 U.S. cents an ounce to the spot London prices from
25 cents last week <GOLD/ASIA1>.
"Liquidation by the general public is decreasing, while
tight supply for gold bars in Southeast Asia also gives support
to the Tokyo market," said a dealer at a bullion house in
Tokyo.
The most active Tokyo platinum contract jumped by the daily
300 yen limit as speculators built up positions after a long
holiday weekend.The benchmark contract for April 2009 delivery
<0#JPL:> on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange rose to 6,335 yen per
gram.
Spot platinum <XPT=> fell to $1,941/1,961 an ounce from
$1,947.50/1,967.50 late in New York.
Silver <XAG=> edged up to $16.86/16.92 an ounce from
$16.84/16.91 an ounce. Spot palladium <XPD=> fell to $426/431
an ounce from $427.50/435.50 an ounce.
Precious metals prices at 0520 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 877.75 2.70 +0.31 5.41
Spot Silver 16.85 0.04 +0.24 14.08
Spot Platinum 1945.00 -3.50 -0.18 27.96
Spot Palladium 425.50 -2.00 -0.47 15.63
TOCOM Gold 2985.00 78.00 +2.68 -2.45
33101
TOCOM Platinum 6335.00 300.00 +4.97 18.66
6253
TOCOM Silver 574.80 21.80 +3.94 6.25
473
TOCOM Palladium 1469.00 76.00 +5.46 8.73
1420
Euro/Dollar 1.5507
Dollar/Yen 104.78
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Ben Tan)
