* Gold steady on bargain hunting
* For the technical on gold, click []
* U.S. weekly initial jobless claims; 1230 GMT
(Updates prices, adds quotes)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Gold held steady on bargain
hunting on Thursday after prices slipped below $1,200 an ounce
but firm stock markets were likely to weigh, and holdings on
the ETF fell slightly.
Investors await the release of more data from the United
States, particularly the payrolls report, which will offer
clues on the health of the economy. Friday's government report
on jobs may show a drop of 65,000 in July as census jobs dried
up.
Spot gold <XAU=> added 10 cents to $1,194.70 an ounce by
0205 GMT after rising to a 2-week high on Wednesday as physical
buying, better-than-expected U.S. jobs data and hopes for
stronger Chinese demand lifted the metal for its sixth straight
daily gain.
For a graphic of the 24-hour gold technical outlook, click:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/WT/20100508090925.jpg
"It's still a very tricky market to call on the near term.
I suppose the positive sign for gold now is that it has held up
some pretty heavy selling pressure towards $1,150," said Mark
Pervan, senior commodities analyst at ANZ in Melbourne.
"If we start to see the relationship being re-established
for the negative correlation with the U.S. dollar, then there's
a potential for gold prices to move back up into the $1,200 to
$1,250 range pretty quickly."
Gold has risen despite a stronger dollar as it gradually
reverses a trend earlier this year when the metal moved in
tandem with the U.S. currency, driven by safe-haven demand.
[]
U.S. gold futures for December delivery <GCZ0> were also
steady at $1,196.5 an ounce after hitting a high of $1,199.5.
The U.S. dollar was mostly higher in Asia on Thursday after
U.S. economic data beat the market's low expectations and
sparked a bout of short-covering, though the overall mood
remains bearish into the key payrolls report. []
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR
Gold Trust <GLD.P>, said its holdings fell to 1,281.834 tonnes
by August 4 from 1,282.279 on July 28. The holdings hit a
record at 1,320.436 tonnes on June 29.
"I think the market needs to consolidate first, then we
will see if the Chinese wil start to buy gold. But we do see
light physical buying and short covering after prices slip
below $1,200," said a dealer in Hong Kong.
"People are cautious ahead of the payrolls data," he added.
China said on Tuesday it would allow more domestic banks to
export and import gold as part of steps to encourage more
liquid trade, which could underpin the country's growing
private demand for the metal. []
Japan's Nikkei rose 2 percent on Thursday after U.S. stocks
firmed in thin trade as retailers' earnings and a report
showing a slight improvement in private employment boosted
optimism ahead of Friday's payrolls report. [] []
Precious metals prices at 0205 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 1194.70 0.10 +0.01 9.04
Spot Silver 18.32 0.07 +0.38 8.85
Spot Platinum 1574.25 -2.75 -0.17 7.31
Spot Palladium 495.75 1.65 +0.33 22.26
TOCOM Gold 3318.00 31.00 +0.94 1.81
23435
TOCOM Platinum 4414.00 10.00 +0.23 0.75
5265
TOCOM Silver 51.50 -0.10 -0.19 -0.39
188
TOCOM Palladium 1387.00 -4.00 -0.29 19.06
133
Euro/Dollar 1.3148
Dollar/Yen 86.13
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Reporting by Lewa Pardomuan; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
