* Market seen at crossroads as $1,000 approaches
* Eyes on BoE, ECB rate decisions
* SPDR gold ETF holdings <XAUEXT-NYS-TT> ease from record
By Chikako Mogi
TOKYO, June 4 (Reuters) - Gold prices rose on Thursday as
investors bought back the metal after a round of profit-taking
the previous day when the U.S. currency climbed and oil prices
tumbled.
Both spot gold and futures fell about 2 percent on Wednesday
as commodities retreated broadly led by heavy losses in oil, the
dollar's sharp recovery amid weaker U.S. economic indicators and
steep losses on Wall Street.
Investors returned to dollar assets as worries about the
outlook for the economy and stock market declines dampened their
risk appetite.
The dollar was steady against the yen and euro on Thursday.
"We are getting a bit of a bounce after the large sell-off
yesterday, plus the dollar is a bit weaker after the rally on
Wednesday," said Adrian Koh, an analyst at Phillip Futures.
Spot gold <XAU=> rose nearly 0.7 percent to $968.50 per ounce
from New York's notional close of $962.15 per ounce. Gold last
hit $1,000 on Feb. 20.
U.S. gold futures for August delivery <GCQ9> rose 0.4 percent
to $969.5 per ounce from $965.60 an ounce on the COMEX division
of the New York Mercantile Exchange. It settled down 1.9 percent
on Wednesday, the biggest one-day percentage fall for the August
contract since April 6.
Prices are hovering just below $1,000, where selling
incentives for customers counter funds buying to hit options
triggers that would lift prices above the key four-digit level.
Inflation worries and the dollar's weakness have supported a
bullish view on gold, while bears said short-term funds were
driving up the market so any gains would not last long.
[]
"I still think it's possible (to hit $1,000), but the markets
are currently at an important crossroads and any further selling
pressures could change that," Koh said, noting that if the market
could hold above the $960 level -- the low for Wednesday's
sell-off -- then the $1,000 level was still realistic.
Holdings of the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded
fund, the SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, eased 1.53 tonnes to 1,132.50
tonnes as of June 3, reflecting investor selling. On June 1,
holdings rose to a record 1,134.03 tonnes. []
Traders said they were watching interest rate decisions later
on Thursday by the Bank of England and the European Central Bank.
Precious metals prices at 0225 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover
Spot Gold 968.00 5.85 +0.61 9.98
Spot Silver 15.39 0.09 +0.59 35.95
Spot Platinum 1233.50 0.00 +0.00 32.35
Spot Palladium 240.50 0.00 +0.00 30.35
TOCOM Gold 3009.00 -44.00 -1.44 16.95 30749
TOCOM Platinum 3855.00 -13.00 -0.34 45.36 9881
TOCOM Silver 475.00 -17.60 -3.57 48.76 400
TOCOM Palladium 759.00 -17.00 -2.19 38.00 365
Euro/Dollar 1.4174
Dollar/Yen 96.20
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is priced
in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Joseph Radford)
