* Gold inches down, consolidating after a drop
* For a technical outlook on gold, click on []
* Coming Up: US ICSC Chain Stores/Wkly; 1145 GMT
(Updates prices, adds quotes)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, May 11 (Reuters) - Gold edged down on Tuesday
after a volatile session the previous day, but a rise in ETF
holdings to another record suggested that investors remained
faithful to the metal.
Although China's consumer inflation in April rose slightly
more than expected to 2.8 percent, analysts said there were no
signs the country would tighten the economy immediately. A move
to tighten the economy could dent its appetite for commodities.
Spot gold <XAU=> was at $1,201.40 an ounce, down 50 cents
from New York's notional close on Monday, when it had dropped
below $1,200 an ounce after a $1 trillion rescue designed to
prevent a European debt crisis ignited selling.
"I think people don't really buy this rescue package. I
think most of the countries' Congress have yet to approve it
before they can release the fund," a bullion dealer in Hong
Kong said.
"Sentiment for gold is still bullish. ETF holdings also
rise every day," he added.
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR
Gold Trust <GLD>, said its holdings stood at a record high of
1,192.150 tonnes as of May 10, from 1,188.498 tonnes in the
previous business day. []
Gold gained about 2.5 percent last week as investors
ditched the euro on fears the euro zone debt crisis would
spread beyond Greece. Bullion was about 2 percent below a
lifetime high of $1,226.10 struck in December last year.
The euro slipped on Tuesday, giving back some gains made
the previous day on news of the rescue package to prevent the
spread of the European debt crisis, as scepticism remains over
Greece's ability to cut its large fiscal deficit smoothly.
[]
"Actually, right now gold is consolidating. Gold prices are
quite stable on the high side," said Wong Eng Soon, an
investment analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore.
China's CPI figures could be supportive for gold because it
reflected a strong purchasing power in the world's
second-largest gold consumer after India, said Wong. "The CPI
figures are high because they are able to buy quite a lot of
things. Gold is one of the things that they buy."
Chinese inflation edged up to an 18-month high in April and
bank lending topped expectations, but the full suite of monthly
data showed an economy that was in robust health and not
overheating as some have feared. []
China also signalled it was ready to let the yuan move more
freely when it said it would manage the currency "with
reference to a basket of currencies," a central bank adviser
said in remarks published on Tuesday.
U.S. gold futures for June delivery <GCM0> added $1.6 an
ounce to $1,202.4 an ounce.
Precious metals prices at 0321 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 1201.40 -0.50 -0.04 9.65
Spot Silver 18.41 -0.03 -0.16 9.39
Spot Platinum 1693.00 0.00 +0.00 15.41
Spot Palladium 524.75 -4.25 -0.80 29.41
TOCOM Gold 3599.00 17.00 +0.47 10.43
61936
TOCOM Platinum 5095.00 32.00 +0.63 16.30
18896
TOCOM Silver 55.60 0.10 +0.18 7.54
456
TOCOM Palladium 1566.00 3.00 +0.19 34.42
789
Euro/Dollar 1.2762
Dollar/Yen 92.90
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Himani Sarkar)
