* Gold takes cue from dollar as investors get risk averse
* SPDR Gold holdings <XAUEXT-NYS-TT> fall 0.03 pct on
Monday
By Risa Maeda
TOKYO, July 7 (Reuters) - Gold prices were little changed
on Tuesday, hovering below $930 per ounce as growing caution
over a sustainable recovery in the global economy helped halt
the dollar's fall against major currencies.
Trade was subdued in a market that had been hurt by last
week's weak U.S. jobs report and awaiting fresh direction from
the outcome of the G8 meeting later this week. []
Spot gold <XAU=> inched down to $923.75 per ounce as of
0310 GMT, compared with New York's notional close of $924.00.
"Doubts over the strength of the U.S. economy increased the
allure of the dollar as a safe asset and that in turn was
putting pressure on gold," said Tatsufumi Okoshi, senior
economist at Nomura Securities Co.
The U.S. currency edged up 0.1 percent versus the euro
<EUR=>, moving closer to a two-week high marked the previous
day. []
Gold hit a two-week low of $920.10 on Monday on the back of
a stronger dollar, as investors preferred the global reserve
currency to bullion as a safe store of value amid fears over
the economic outlook.
Bargain hunters resurfaced in India, the world's biggest
bullion consumer, as gold slipped this week, but jewellers in
other parts of Asia hoped for more of a price correction after
bullion failed to sustain recent gains, dealers said.
[]
Gold has retreated by more than 6 percent from a four-month
high near $990 struck in early June.
"Gold is now largely at a standstill, a situation similar
to other markets. That's because it is yet to be known how far
to correct the overly optimistic views on the economy,"
Nomura's Okoshi said, adding gold may be caught in a range of
$900-$950 for the time being.
U.S. gold futures for August delivery <GCQ9> fell $0.2 to
$924.10 per ounce. On Monday the contract fell $6.70 on the
COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Non-commercial net long New York gold futures positions
fell to 164,186 lots in the week to June 30 from 166,294 lots,
the weekly Commitments of Traders report issued by the
Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed late on Monday.
[]
The net long positions have fallen from a peak of 189,674
lots marked in the week to June 9.
Another factor suggesting receding investor appetite,
holdings by the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded
fund, the SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, fell 0.03 percent on Monday.
[]
The holdings stood at 1,120.19 tonnes as of July 6, down
13.84 tonnes or 1.2 percent from a record 1,134.03 tonnes
marked on June 1.
Precious metals prices at 0330
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 923.90 -0.10 -0.01 4.97
Spot Silver 13.27 0.03 +0.23 17.23
Spot Platinum 1148.50 5.50 +0.48 23.23
Spot Palladium 239.50 0.50 +0.21 29.81
TOCOM Gold 2845.00 -13.00 -0.45 10.57
28629
TOCOM Platinum 3543.00 -45.00 -1.25 33.60
11743
TOCOM Silver 405.80 -2.50 -0.61 27.09
288
TOCOM Palladium 743.00 -11.00 -1.46 35.09
126
Euro/Dollar 1.3965
Dollar/Yen 95.37
(Editing by Michael Urquhart)
