* Gold holds near New York level but upward momentum weak
* SPDR Gold holdings <XAUEXT-NYS-TT> unchanged
By Miho Yoshikawa
TOKYO, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Gold held above $955 on Tuesday but
remained below a seven-week high marked in New York as waning
investor appetite for the precious metal capped gains despite the
dollar's decline to levels close to this year's low.
Bullion rose to $962.10 an ounce in New York on Monday, its
highest since June 10, boosted by a weaker dollar, which lost
some of its safe-haven appeal in the face of a rally on Wall
Street and encouraging economic data.
Kazuhiko Saito, chief analyst at Tokyo's Fujitomi Co Ltd,
said that while a weaker dollar was continuing to lend support to
gold, the precious metal was showing signs of being top heavy.
"Gold has lost some of its appeal as a safe haven ... and
it's no longer such an attractive investment instrument," he
said.
Investment money was shifting out of gold, he said, a fact
underscored by a decline in holdings in gold-backed
exchange-traded funds, which have been mostly on a downtrend
since June.
Gold <XAU=> stood at $955.80 an ounce at 0255 GMT, up 0.03
percent from the New York notional close of $955.55.
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the
SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, said holdings stood at 1,072.87 tonnes as
of Aug. 3, unchanged since July 29. []
Holdings have declined over 5 percent since hitting a record
of 1,134.03 tonnes on June 1.
U.S. gold futures for December delivery <GCZ9> were flat at
$958.8.
The dollar traded close to its lowest level this year against
a basket of currencies on Tuesday after bullish global stocks and
upbeat economic data from around the world raised hopes for an
economic recovery and increased investors' risk-appetite. []
U.S. stocks rose on Monday, pushing the S&P 500 index above
1,000 for the first time in nine months, as data on the
manufacturing sector underscored optimism that the economy was
recovering. []
The rally extended to Tokyo with the Nikkei average <>
rising to its highest point in 10 months on Tuesday, buoyed by
exporters after data on the U.S. manufacturing sector underscored
optimism about the economy. []
Platinum <XPT=> held close to New York's closing level on
Monday of $1,232.50 per ounce, helped in part by the robust
performance of industrial metals.
Copper surged to a new 10 month high above $6,000 per tonne
on Monday as robust manufacturing data raised prospects for
demand for the industrial metal.
Saito added, however, that platinum's prospects were not as
bright as those of many other industrial metals as demand for the
silvery-white metal was likely to fall as electric cars and other
environmentally friendly cars are launched.
These zero-emission cars do not need autocatalysts to clean
exhaust fumes, which account for more than 50 percent of global
platinum demand.
Platinum is also used in jewellery, an area where demand is
also weak.
PRICES
Precious metals prices at 0254 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover
Spot Gold 955.85 0.30 +0.03 8.60
Spot Silver 14.28 0.07 +0.49 26.15
Spot Platinum 1231.00 -1.50 -0.12 32.08
Spot Palladium 271.00 1.50 +0.56 46.88
TOCOM Gold 2942.00 37.00 +1.27 14.34 26783
TOCOM Platinum 3784.00 111.00 +3.02 42.68 13051
TOCOM Silver 439.50 11.50 +2.69 37.64 187
TOCOM Palladium 840.00 35.00 +4.35 52.73 400
Euro/Dollar 1.4405
Dollar/Yen 95.39
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Michael Watson)
