* Gold steady but off highs; jewellers buy
* For short-term technicals on gold, click []
* Coming Up: U.S. weekly initial jobless claims; 1230 GMT
(Updates prices)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Gold held steady on Thursday
after drop in prices from a 2-week high spurred light buying
from jewellers in Asia, but firm stock markets were likely to
weigh while 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.
Gold <XAU=> hit a high of $1,196.45 an ounce before
slipping to $1,194.55 by 0609 GMT, down 0.05 cents from New
York's notional close on Wednesday, when bullion rose to its
highest in two weeks above $1,200.
Dealers in Singapore noted physical buying from Indonesia
and Thailand, but volume was low, keeping premiums unchanged at
80 cents to the spot London prices. <GOLD/ASIA1>
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."
U.S. gold futures for December delivery <GCZ0> added $1.4
to $1,197.3 an ounce after hitting a high of $1,199.5.
The dollar steadied on Thursday after it enjoyed a rare
rally the previous day when U.S. data beat expectations and
sparked a bout of short-covering, although the overall mood
remains bearish ahead of a 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 Aug. 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 will 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 more than 1 percent on Thursday, after
U.S. stocks firmed in thin trade on Wednesday 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 0609 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 1194.55 -0.05 -0.00 9.02
Spot Silver 18.26 0.01 +0.05 8.50
Spot Platinum 1571.10 -5.90 -0.37 7.10
Spot Palladium 488.30 -5.80 -1.17 20.42
TOCOM Gold 3321.00 34.00 +1.03 1.90
33190
TOCOM Platinum 4396.00 -8.00 -0.18 0.34
9367
TOCOM Silver 51.40 -0.20 -0.39 -0.58
394
TOCOM Palladium 1365.00 -26.00 -1.87 17.17
228
Euro/Dollar 1.3164
Dollar/Yen 86.18
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Himani Sarkar)
