* Gold rises in rebound from previous day's fall
* Tracks dlr as investors sidelined, jewellery demand weak
* SPDR Gold holdings <XAUEXT-NYS-TT> steady
By Chikako Mogi
TOKYO, July 3 (Reuters) - Gold rose on Friday and hovered
above $930 per ounce, with investors keeping an eye on the
dollar, which rose the previous day when bleak U.S. jobs data
enhanced the greenback's safe-haven appeal and hurt bullion.
Gold inched higher as the U.S. currency trimmed earlier
gains against the euro, but rises were limited as investors
stayed on the sidelines and jewellery demand was weak.
"Gold is up today in a rebound from yesterday's fall but
basically the market is tracking the dollar," said Ronald Leung,
director of Lee Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong.
"The market is likely to be dead with the U.S. holiday and
nothing new coming out of Europe. Investors are not in the
market and jewellery is not performing well," he said.
Spot gold <XAU=> rose 0.5 percent to $933.25 per ounce at
0624 GMT, compared with New York's notional close of $928.65 on
Thursday.
It was poised to fall about 0.5 percent on the week, having
retreated from a four-month high near $990 hit in early June.
U.S. gold futures for August delivery <GCQ9> rose 0.3
percent to $933.90 an ounce, compared with $931.00 on the COMEX
division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
U.S. financial markets are closed on Friday for the
Independence Day holiday.
Traders said if gold prices managed to reach $950 it could
give them incentives to test the market's upside.
Reflecting a slowdown in investments, the world's largest
gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>,
said holdings were 1,120.55 tonnes as of July 2, unchanged from
the previous business day. []
Indian data showed the country's gold imports stood at about
59.8 tonnes in the first six months this year, down 57 percent
from the same period last year. India's gold imports in June
were likely around 8 to 10 tonnes, down 24 tonnes from the same
month a year ago, a senior official from Bombay Bullion
Association said this week. []
The European Central Bank kept interest rates at 0.1 percent
on Thursday, bolstering expectations they will stay there well
into next year. ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet gave no sign
the ECB was planning to move rates from the current record low
level soon, saying they remained "appropriate". []
Gold fell on Thursday as worse-than-expected U.S. jobs data
dented gold's appeal as a hedge against inflation and bolstered
the dollar. The dollar gained as bleak economic recovery
prospects enhanced the U.S. currency's safe-haven attraction.
A rise in the dollar weakens investors' need to use bullion
as a hedge against falls in the value of dollar-denominated
assets and weighs on gold prices.
On Friday, the euro edged up to $1.4010 <EUR=>, after
shedding more than 1 percent the day before. It had hit a
one-month high above $1.4200 earlier in the week. The dollar was
nearly flat against the yen. []
Precious metals prices at 0638 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 933.25 4.60 +0.50 6.03
Spot Silver 13.40 0.02 +0.15 18.37
Spot Platinum 1183.50 2.00 +0.17 26.98
Spot Palladium 249.00 0.00 +0.00 34.96
TOCOM Gold 2894.00 -36.00 -1.23 12.48 35807
TOCOM Platinum 3680.00 -34.00 -0.92 38.76 7975
TOCOM Silver 414.30 -12.60 -2.95 29.75 368
TOCOM Palladium 781.00 -10.00 -1.26 42.00 128
Euro/Dollar 1.4012
Dollar/Yen 96.01
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Additional reporting by Risa Maeda; Editing by Joseph Radford)
