* Euro slides as Moody's puts Spain rating on review
* Main silver ETF holdings hit record at 10,964.14 T
* U.S. platinum, palladium ETP holdings at record
(Updates prices)
By Amanda Cooper and Jan Harvey
LONDON, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Gold fell for the first time in
three days on Wednesday as the dollar rose broadly, offsetting
any potential boost from investor unease due to ratings agency
Moody's issuing a warning on Spain's credit rating.
While the strength in the dollar dented gold, underlying
demand for the metal as a haven from risk was preventing a
larger correction, analysts said.
Spot gold <XAU=> was bid at $1,388.10 an ounce at 1623 GMT,
against $1,395.61 late in New York on Tuesday. U.S. gold futures
for February delivery <GCG1> fell $14.90 an ounce to $1,389.60.
"The concern about euro zone stability and debt has
certainly been playing into the market, that's a key feature at
the minute and I think it's going to continue to be so in the
first quarter of next year," Credit Suisse analyst Tom Kendall
said.
"The yields on the ten-year (U.S. Treasury) has come up
almost 40 percent from the yield low and gold is still trading
either side of $1,400. I think that's a very reassuring
performance."
The euro <EUR=> fell broadly, hitting a record low against
the Swiss franc, after Moody's said it had put Spain on review
for a possible downgrade, a day after cutting its outlook for
Belgian sovereign debt. []
"Clearly the downside is well supported by ongoing
uncertainties about debt, with Moody's (reviewing) some European
ratings outlooks, on Spain and Belgium and so on," said Credit
Agricole analyst Robin Bhar.
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For a graphic showing the credit ratings of certain euro
zone economies, click on: http://r.reuters.com/get52k
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The Moody's news fuelled concern over the scale of some euro
zone countries' debt, after Greece and Ireland struggled with
their finances earlier this year. This helped drive gold to a
record $1,430.95 an ounce earlier this month.
Some budget experts also fear the United States will face a
Greece-style debt crisis over the coming decade if it does not
bring down budget deficits, which hit 9.9 percent of GDP in
fiscal 2009.
"The unease generated by ever-growing budget deficits is
negative for the U.S. dollar and supportive of gold," HSBC said
in a note. "A lack of confidence in the government's willingness
to cut the deficit is an important component in the gold rally."
Meanwhile the world's largest gold exchange-traded fund, the
SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, said its holdings fell by just over 3
tonnes on Tuesday. []
However, the iShares Silver Trust <SLV>, the world's largest
silver-backed ETF, said its holdings hit a record high at
10,964.14 tonnes on Dec. 14. []
"Given our positive outlook for gold we expect silver to
enjoy continued investor demand in 2011," UBS said in a note.
"But silver is very volatile, and this will deter some
investors. We see silver averaging $33.00 in 2011."
Spot silver <XAG=> was bid at $29.25 an ounce against
$29.40, platinum <XPT=> was at $1,699.99 an ounce against
$1,704.24, and palladium <XPD=> at $754.47 against $757.97.
The amount of palladium held to back the New York-listed
ETFS Physical Palladium exchange-traded product rose 1.4 percent
to a record high of 1.119 million ounces on Tuesday, according
to the U.S. arm of ETF Securities, which manages the product.
Holdings of the ETFS Physical Platinum ETP also held at a
record 412,733 ounces.
(Editing by Keiron Henderson)
