* 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)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Gold ticked lower on
Thursday, but held within sight of a record hit as it headed
for an eighth straight quarterly gain, 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 60 cents to $1,308.15 an ounce by
0457 GMT after hitting a lifetime high around $1,313 on
Wednesday -- its 10th record high in the past 12 trading days.
Gold has gained as much as 19.8 percent this year, heading
for its 10th consecutive annual gain.
"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> was steady
at $1,309.5 an ounce, not far from Wednesday's record at
$1,314.80.
Prospects of moves by the Fed to inject liquidity into the
monetary system to tackle the sluggish U.S. economy could
dilute the dollar's value, and boost investment in bullion as
an alternative asset.
"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 0457 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 1308.15 -0.65 -0.05 19.39
Spot Silver 21.89 0.02 +0.09 30.07
Spot Platinum 1639.00 -6.75 -0.41 11.72
Spot Palladium 566.00 2.55 +0.45 39.58
TOCOM Gold 3522.00 -9.00 -0.25 8.07
22186
TOCOM Platinum 4419.00 -16.00 -0.36 0.87
8994
TOCOM Silver 58.80 -0.20 -0.34 13.73
590
TOCOM Palladium 1521.00 -4.00 -0.26 30.56
206
Euro/Dollar 1.3600
Dollar/Yen 83.51
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))
