* Markets still wary over euro zone debt crisis
* Holdings by SPDR Gold Trust unchanged Friday []
* Coming Up: U.S. existing home sales for April at 1400 GMT
By Risa Maeda
TOKYO, May 24 (Reuters) - Gold edged higher on Monday after
falling for five straight sessions, with investors attracted by
the precious metal in the face of remaining uncertainty over the
global economy.
Last week spot gold fell 4.6 percent in its biggest weekly
percentage loss in almost 15 months. But a loss of more than $50
during the period was seen as a short-term correction after gold
hit a record high of $1,248.95 an ounce on May 14.
Long-term investors maintained their affinitiy for the
precious metal despite the recent rise in volatility in other
markets, including stocks, analysts said.
"Gold edged up as unwinding of longs by short-term investors
was petering out. It's been a minor correction and a normal one,"
said Kaname Gokon, deputy general manager at a commodity
brokerage Okato Shoji Co's research section.
"There's been no change in long positions by long-term
investors," he said.
Financial markets are still wary over the debt crisis in
Greece, maintaining gold's allure as a safe haven, said Tatsufumi
Okoshi, a senior economist at Nomura Securities Co.
Spot gold <XAU=> was at $1,184.40 an ounce as of 0253 GMT, up
0.8 percent from $1,175.15 late in New York on Friday when it
fell to a two-week low of $1,166.50.
Technically, gold could rally to $1,193.60, provided a minor
support point at $1,175.00 holds firm.
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Reuters technical analysis on gold []
Technical outlook: http://link.reuters.com/cyq85k
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In the currency market, the euro slipped on Monday as
investors sold into its latest bounce and worries about the
health of the European banking sector weighed on the single
currency. []
U.S. gold futures for June delivery <GCM0> were at $1,185.10
an ounce, up 0.8 percent from Friday's settlement.
Net long noncommercial U.S. gold futures positions fell to
231,670 contracts in the week ended May 18, down 1.8 percent from
a week earlier, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission said in
a weekly report. []
Underlining investor confidence over gold, holdings by the
world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund stayed unchanged
for the third session in a row.
The SPDR Gold Trust <GLD> said its holdings totalled
1,220.152 tonnes as of May 21, unchanged from the record high
marked on May 19. []
Spot platinum <XPT=> was at $1,502.50 an ounce, compared with
$1,504.50. On Friday it fell as low as $1,452.50, its lowest
since Feb. 5, before paring losses.
Spot palladium <XPD=> was at $434 an ounce against $433.50 on
Friday, when it bounced back after falling as low as $393, also
its lowest since Feb. 5.
Last week platinum and palladium ran their biggest weekly
percentage losses since late 2008, hit hard by fund liquidation
on fears the euro zone's debt crisis will crimp global growth.
"The damage to platinum and palladium was far more serious
than that to gold," Okato Shoji's Gokon said.
If and when the two metals' prices fall to or below their
January levels it could trigger a rush of selling by U.S.
platinum and palladium exchange traded funds, Gokon said.
ETF Securities Ltd's U.S. physical platinum <PPLT> and
physical palladium shares <PALL> ETFs had drawn strong inflows of
money amid a rosy outlook for the auto sector since the funds'
inception in January.
Precious metals prices at 0301 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover
Spot Gold 1184.95 9.80 0.83 8.15
Spot Silver 17.86 0.27 1.53 6.12
Spot Platinum 1504.25 -0.25 -0.02 2.54
Spot Palladium 434.50 1.00 0.23 7.15
TOCOM Gold 3448 27.00 0.79 5.80 47390
TOCOM Platinum 4400 66.00 1.52 0.43 19265
TOCOM Silver 52 0.70 1.35 1.35 470
TOCOM Palladium 1268 83.00 7.00 8.84 956
Euro/Dollar 1.2510
Dollar/Yen 90.2200
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Michael Watson)
