* U.S. housing data at 1230 GMT eyed
* Holdings of SPDR gold ETF <XAUEXT-NYS-TT> unchanged
By Risa Maeda
TOKYO, May 19 (Reuters) - Gold rose on Tuesday on light
cash buying to top $920 per ounce, but investors were cautious
as another day of improved U.S. housing data could further dull
the metal's appeal as a safe haven from volatility in other
markets.
On Monday gold hit a one-week low of $915.05 as U.S. stocks
rallied after better-than-expected earnings results from the
home improvement sector gave investors their latest reason to
hope the worst of the recession was over.
Those prospects could be strengthened by April data on U.S.
housing starts and building permits due at 1230 GMT on Tuesday,
which economists think will show housing starts rose to 0.52
million from 0.51 million in March, according to a Reuters
poll.
"Gold moved up slightly on physical buying below $920, but
it basically remained in the usual price range of between $915
and $930," said Peter Tse, a dealer at Scotia Mocatta in Hong
Kong.
Spot gold <XAU=> rose 0.5 percent to $922.00 per ounce by
0551 GMT, compared with New York's notional close of $917.20.
On Friday bullion hit a seven-week high of $933.65 per
ounce after data showed U.S. core inflation in April rose more
than expected.
"Right now gold does not have its own momentum, and follows
movements elsewhere," Tse said, adding that the metal could
come under pressure if U.S. stocks extended their gains from
Monday, when the S&P 500 index jumped 2.5 percent. []
U.S. gold futures for June delivery <GCM9> inched up 0.1
percent to $922.60 per ounce, compared with Monday's settlement
of $921.70 an ounce on the COMEX division of the New York
Mercantile Exchange.
Analysts also said gold would be well supported by any sign
of rising prices, given the ample liquidity central banks have
been supplying to help their economies recover.
Investors are torn between gold's allure as an alternative
to equities and a hedge against a heat-up in economic activity
or inflation, said Yukoh Shoji, an analyst at Orval Next Corp,
a Japanese brokerage.
"Investors are finding it difficult to sell gold-backed
exchange traded funds for now because inflation risk is looming
in the long term," he said.
Investors have been neither adding or withdrawing money
from gold-backed funds in the past few days, with holdings at
the world's largest gold-backed ETF, SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>,
unchanged at 1,105.62 tonnes from May 18. []
Spot platinum <XPT=> was mostly unchanged from New York's
notional close of $1,128.50, supported by hopes of recovery in
demand from automakers for catalytic converters.
Those hopes were underscored by news that U.S. President
Barack Obama on Tuesday would propose the most aggressive
increase in U.S. auto fuel efficiency ever, in a policy
initiative that would also directly regulate emissions for the
first time and resolve a dispute with California over cleaner
cars. []
London is playing host this week to the annual Platinum
Week event, a gathering of leading industry figures.
[]
Precious metals prices at 0548 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 921.65 4.45 +0.49 4.72
Spot Silver 13.84 0.12 +0.87 22.26
Spot Platinum 1128.50 0.00 +0.00 21.08
Spot Palladium 227.00 0.50 +0.22 23.04
TOCOM Gold 2871.00 11.00 +0.38 11.58
20021
TOCOM Platinum 3525.00 115.00 +3.37 32.92
10264
TOCOM Silver 426.20 -0.30 -0.07 33.48
141
TOCOM Palladium 716.00 17.00 +2.43 30.18
168
Euro/Dollar 1.3558
Dollar/Yen 96.37
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Additional reporting by Miho Yoshikawa; Editing by Clarence
Fernandez)
