* Gold rises on short covering, holds near record
* For the technical outlook on gold, click on
[]
* Coming Up: New York May Fed Empire State Survey; 1230
GMT
(Updates prices, adds quotes)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, May 17 (Reuters) - Gold firmed towards a record
on Monday, while bullion priced in euro and sterling struck all
time highs as falling currencies and fears a European bailout
package could hurt, rather than help a recovery, spurred
investor buying.
Holdings of the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded
fund, SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, rose to a lifetime high of
1,214.065 tonnes as investors sought a safe haven from volatile
currencies as well as declines in stock markets and oil.
[]
Spot gold <XAU=> was at $1,239.90 an ounce by 0326 GMT, up
$9.85 from New York's notional close on Friday, when it etched
a record of $1,248.95 before slipping. Bullion has gone up
around 13 percent this year.
"Of course gold still looks bullish. I don't know what the
ceiling is. People talk about $1,300, $1,400. We have to break
$1,250 to see new highs," said Ronald Leung, director of Lee
Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong.
While dealers noted short covering from investors, some
jewellers sold back their holdings from cash but in small
quantity, Leung said. "There's a bit of selling in the physical
side. They will be more aggressive when we see a new high."
U.S. gold futures for June delivery <GCM0> added $13.2 per
ounce to $1,241 an ounce. Gold priced in euro <XAUEUR=R> and
sterling <XAUGBP=R> struck records.
For a graphic of the gold technical outlook, click:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/CT_20101705094907.jpg
The euro tumbled to a four-year low on Monday on persistent
worries that harsh spending cuts mandated by a $1 trillion
bailout plan may choke off a fragile recovery in the euro zone.
Sterling hit a fresh one-year low against the dollar. []
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Sunday the rescue
plan stitched together by the European Union and the
International Monetary Fund only bought time to sort out the
yawning gap between the euro zone's strongest and weakest
economies. [].
In Singapore, dealers noted persistent selling from
jewellers in Indonesia, but there were some inquiries from
investors in Thailand, which could be tied to the deadly
violence in Bangkok. []
"If you like the situation in Europe, it doesn't seem to
get better. Of course gold is still a better bet. We expect
gold to revisit the recent highs," said a physical dealer in
Singapore.
Japan's Nikkei average slipped 2 percent on Monday after
the euro hit a four-year trough and slides in overseas shares
stoked fears the global economy could sustain more damage than
expected. []
Oil fell below $70 a barrel on Monday, to its lowest in
more than three months, extending a loss of nearly 17 percent
over the past two weeks on fears over Europe's debts, the weak
euro and swollen U.S. oil inventories.
Precious metals prices at 0326 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 1239.90 9.85 +0.80 13.16
Spot Silver 19.35 0.10 +0.52 14.97
Spot Platinum 1713.50 -2.00 -0.12 16.80
Spot Palladium 519.00 -4.50 -0.86 27.99
TOCOM Gold 3678.00 -16.00 -0.43 12.86
40340
TOCOM Platinum 5085.00 -76.00 -1.47 16.07
11764
TOCOM Silver 57.70 -0.70 -1.20 11.61
663
TOCOM Palladium 1536.00 -64.00 -4.00 31.85
538
Euro/Dollar 1.2286
Dollar/Yen 91.96
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
