* Equity market gains weigh on gold
* Platinum boosted by Johnson Matthey report
* Holdings of SPDR gold ETF <XAUEXT-NYS-TT> unchanged
(Recasts, adds comment, updates prices)
By Rebekah Curtis
LONDON, May 18 (Reuters) - Gold prices slipped on Monday as
stock markets bounced, but analysts expect concerns about
inflation and the economy to underpin the precious metal's
credentials as a hedge against uncertainty.
Platinum rose after refiner Johnson Matthey released its
influential annual report which highlighted expectations of
strong Chinese jewellery demand, outweighing weakness in North
American and European jewellery markets, traders said.
Spot gold <XAU=> was bid at $922.15 an ounce at 1402 GMT,
compared with $930.70 late in New York on Friday, when it
touched $933.65, its highest in seven weeks, after data showed
U.S. core inflation in April rose more than expected.
A higher opening by U.S. stocks in the United States eroded
gold market sentiment, but analysts said the impact was likely
to be brief.
"The outlook for gold is a lot better than the outlook for
the U.S. economy," said Charles Kernot, mining analyst at
Evolution Securities. "There is still a lot of uncertainty in
terms of the outlook for the global economy...People are now
looking at it being a much slower recovery (than expected)."
Traders said rising oil prices <LCOc1>, which could feed an
inflation spiral would help bolster gold market sentiment. []
PLATINUM EYED
Platinum slipped briefly after Johnson Matthey gave a wide
range in the price forecast published in its annual report,
saying prices could move between $950 and $1,350 over the next
six months. []
The report is the centrepiece of the annual gathering of
leading figures in the platinum industry for the annual Platinum
Week event in London this week. []
Platinum <XPT=> later rose to $1,116 an ounce, compared with
$1,100.50 an ounce late in New York on Friday. Platinum group
metals languished in 2008 due to problems in the auto sector.
Johnson Matthey said demand from the auto sector, a major
platinum user, and from the glass and chemical industries was
set to decline this year as the economic downturn persists.
Palladium <XPD=> was bid at $223 from Friday's $222.50,
while silver <XAG=> was at $13.71 an ounce from $13.93.
Johnson Matthey said palladium sales from Russian state
stockpiles could keep the market in surplus for at least another
year. []
"For both platinum and palladium, the rapid ramp-up in ETF
holdings has slowed significantly. As with gold, we believe the
slowdown is due to the rally in equity prices since the middle of
March," Standard Bank said in a note.
Investors were hesitant to pile more money into gold,
keeping holdings at the world's largest gold-backed
exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, unchanged at
1,105.62 tonnes as of May 15. []
(Additional reporting by Pratima Desai; Editing by Sue Thomas)
