* Gold pressured as equities rebound from multi-year lows
* SPDR Gold ETF sees no new inflows, iShares Silver dips
* Gold scrap sales surge in Asia
(Recasts, updates prices, market activity to close; adds
second byline, dateline, previously LONDON)
By Frank Tang and Jan Harvey
NEW YORK/LONDON, March 4 (Reuters) - Gold ended down on
Wednesday, falling to a three-week low as investors eschewed
the safe haven to place some funds in beaten-down equities
markets.
Spot gold <XAU=> was at $901.50 an ounce at 2:47 p.m. EST
(1947 GMT), down 0.1 percent from its last quote $915.70 late
in New York on Tuesday.
U.S. gold futures for April delivery <GCJ9> settled down
$6.90 at $906.70 an ounce on the COMEX division of the New York
Mercantile Exchange.
With stock prices at multi-year lows, Citi analyst David
Thurtell said investors had been buying equities at the expense
of gold.
"There was some news out of China this morning on a
possible new stimulus package and we are seeing some green
shoots elsewhere," he said. "There are some hopeful signs that
maybe the worst has passed, though it is a big maybe."
U.S. stocks rallied to break a five-day sell-off on
investor optimism, while Asian shares rebounded on hopes
Beijing will step up efforts to support the Chinese economy.
But inflation concerns should support gold as governments
around the world roll out stimulus packages, analysts said.
"There is a concern globally about currencies," said Robert
Lutts, chief investment officer of Cabot Money Management. He
said newly printed money would soon inundate the global
economy.
"Under this environment, people protect their financial
assets by looking toward gold as a stabilizing influence," said
Lutts, who manages $400 million of client assets.
FLEETING GAINS
Gold saw some early gains as oil prices rallied on news
that crude oil stocks fell unexpectedly last week. Gold is seen
as a hedge against oil-inspired inflation. []
But the gold market was pressured by a lack of inflows into
gold-backed exchange-traded funds -- a key part of gold demand
early this year.
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the
SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, said holdings remained at a record
1,029.29 tonnes as of March 3, unchanged from Feb. 26.
The trust's holdings surged by over a quarter or 205 tonnes
in the first six weeks of this year, but have climbed by just
5.2 tonnes in the last fortnight.
Rising gold prices have sent sales of scrap gold rocketing.
Gold refiners are running at full capacity across Asia as
people cash in jewelry and coins, dealers said.
Among other precious metals, spot silver <XAG=> was at
$12.85 an ounce, up 0.4 percent from its Tuesday finish of
$12.80.
The world's largest silver-backed ETF, the iShares Silver
Trust <SLV>, said its holdings fell for a third successive day
on Tuesday, by three tonnes to 7,981.17 tonnes. They have
fallen nearly 200 tonnes in the last three sessions.
Spot platinum <XPT=> at $1,040.50 an ounce, up 0.9 percent
from its previous close of $1,031, while spot palladium <XPD=>
was at $196.00, up 2.4 percent from its late Tuesday New York
quote of $191.50.
(Reporting by Frank Tang and Jan Harvey, with additional
repoting by Rebekah Curtis; Editing by David Gregorio)
