* Public holidays in India, Britain
* SPDR Gold ETF holdings unchanged since Dec 21
TOKYO, Dec 28 (Reuters) - Gold inched higher on Monday,
helped by a recovery trend in the euro against the dollar, but
trade was light as many investors stayed on the sidelines with
U.S. and European markets closed since late last week for
Christmas.
Spot gold <XAU=> was up 0.8 percent at $1,112.35 an ounce as
of 0710 GMT, compared with New York's notional close of $1,103.80
It has risen more than 25 percent so far this year.
Spot gold fell to a seven-week low of $1,074.10 an ounce on
Tuesday, but has since attracted bargain-hunting.
U.S. gold futures for February delivery <GCG0> were up 0.8
percent at $1,113.10 an ounce, compared with $1,104.80 an ounce
on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange on Dec.
24.
"Gold maintained its momentum, led by gains in the futures
market. The euro's firmness continues to be in favour," said a
manager at a Japanese trading company.
In the currency market, the euro slipped on the day to
$1.4388 <EUR=> but was not far from Friday's high of $1.4437.
[] The euro was on the mend after falling as far as $1.4218
last week, its lowest since early September.
A weaker dollar is a plus for gold as it makes the precious
metal less costly in key overseas trading areas such as Europe
and Asia.
"Physical trade is slow, but there is general caution over
volatility in the metal's prices in a seasonally thinned-out
market towards the year-end," the manager said.
European participants are expected to mostly stay away from
trading later in the day as British markets are closed for Boxing
Day. Monday is also a public holiday in India, the world's
biggest gold consumer.
In contrast, it is the last business day of the year for many
Japanese companies, which resume on Jan. 4.
Among other precious metals, spot platinum <XPT=> was at
$1,481 per ounce, up 1.6 percent from New York's notional close
of $1,458. But palladium <XPD=> was down 0.3 percent at $383.
The two metals rallied last week after news that a British
firm had come a step closer to launching the first U.S.
exchange-traded funds on the precious metals used for purifying
auto emissions. []
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR
Gold Trust <GLD>, said its holdings stood at 1,132.708 tonnes on
Friday, unchanged since Dec. 21. []
Holdings hit a record high of 1,134.03 tonnes on June 1.
Precious metals prices at 0709 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg Day ago pct Turnover
Spot Gold 1111.70 7.90 +0.72 26.31
Spot Silver 17.54 0.04 +0.23 54.95
Spot Platinum 1481.00 23.00 +1.58 58.91
Spot Palladium 383.00 -1.00 -0.26 107.59
TOCOM Gold 3293.00 29.00 +0.89 27.98 43309
TOCOM Platinum 4374.00 14.00 +0.32 64.93 21861
TOCOM Silver 52.30 0.70 +1.36 -83.62 931
TOCOM Palladium 1137.00 9.00 +0.80 106.73 507
Euro/Dollar 1.4386
Dollar/Yen 91.52
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Reporting by Risa Maeda and Chikako Mogi; Editing by Michael
Watson)
