* Gold ticks lower; iShares Trust holdings hit record
* Technical points downward to $1,299/oz []
* Coming Up; Initial jobless claims weekly; 1230 GMT
(Updates prices, adds quotes)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Gold ticked lower on
Thursday, but held within sight of a record hit in the previous
session, with prospects for a weaker dollar in focus on
possible further U.S. monetary easing.
Sales of gold scrap persisted in Southeast Asia but volume
was small, while Chinese consumers bought some quantity of
physical silver despite prices at near 30-year high. Palladium
firmed after rallying to its strongest since early 2008 on
Wednesday, while platinum was below a four-month high .
Spot gold <XAU=> eased $1.30 to $1,307.50 an ounce by 0327
GMT after hitting a lifetime high around $1,313 an ounce on
Wednesday -- its 10th record high in the past 12 trading days.
Gold has gained as much as 19.8 percent this year.
"The market may have consolidation within this $10 range,
but I would expect it to sustain the rally because the momentum
has not changed yet," said a bullion dealer at Bank of China in
Hong Kong.
"It's not easy to predict the resistance level, but we will
try to hit another record high in the next few days."
For a 24-hour gold technical outlook, see:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/WT/20103009090404.jpg The
dollar struggled near the week's lows against the yen on
Thursday and held near a five-month low on the euro, hit by
expectations of more Federal Reserve easing. []
The Federal Reserve has inched closer to fresh steps to aid
the world's largest economy, but Fed officials disagreed on
Wednesday on what should prompt more support and what impact
more asset purchases could have. []
U.S. gold futures for December delivery <GCZ0> fell $1.3 an
ounce to $1,309.0 an ounce, not far from Wednesday's record at
$1,314.80.
"Scrap from Indonesia and Thailand continues to enter the
market but the quantity is not fantastic. I guess because
clients are afraid gold will move higher again," said a
physical dealer in Singapore. "The Chinese bought some silver
this morning."
Silver, often considered the poor man's gold, normally
tracks gold, but an increase in ETF holdings to record levels
as well as purchases from physical buyers showed there was a
pick up in interest in the white metal.
The world's largest silver-backed exchange-traded fund, the
iShares Silver Trust <SLV>, said its holdings rose to a record
high of 9,786.47 tonnes by Sept 29 from 9,756.04 tonnes on Sept
28. For details of the ETF's silver holdings, click on:
http://link.reuters.com/wux96h
Silver's main sources of demand are for use in industrial
applications such as semi-conductors and jewellery.
Precious metals prices at 0327 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 1307.50 -1.30 -0.10 19.33
Spot Silver 21.86 -0.01 -0.05 29.89
Spot Platinum 1642.50 -3.25 -0.20 11.96
Spot Palladium 565.00 1.55 +0.28 39.33
TOCOM Gold 3523.00 -8.00 -0.23 8.10
19397
TOCOM Platinum 4431.00 -4.00 -0.09 1.14
6806
TOCOM Silver 58.90 -0.10 -0.17 13.93
480
TOCOM Palladium 1525.00 0.00 +0.00 30.90
173
Euro/Dollar 1.3604
Dollar/Yen 83.57 TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot
prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Ed Lane)
(lewa.pardomuan@thomson reuters.com; +65 6870 3834; Reuters
Messaging: lewa.pardomuan.reuters.com@reuters.net))
