* Gold steady, keeps New York gains
* SPDR gold holdings <XAUEXT-NYS-TT> dip 1.4 pct
By Miho Yoshikawa
TOKYO, July 15 (Reuters) - Gold held its gains from the
previous day to hover above $925 on Wednesday, as firm stocks
continued to provide support.
Bullion has recently lost some of its attraction to
risk-averse investors seeking an inflation hedge, causing the
metal to lose nearly $20 last week, hitting a two-month low.
"I think gold is currently comfortable around the $920
level," said Kazuhiko Saito, an analyst at Tokyo's Fujitomi Co
Ltd.
He added that the metal was unlikely to move much higher
during Asian business hours barring fresh news.
Gold <XAU=> was at $925.80 ounce at 0301 GMT, up 0.1 percent
compared to New York's notional close of $924.60.
U.S. gold futures for August delivery <GCQ9> were at $925.90
per ounce, up 0.3 percent from Tuesday's settlement.
Japan's Nikkei average rose 0.5 percent on Wednesday, after
upbeat results from Goldman Sachs <GS.N> and Intel <INTC.O>
lifted hopes of a recovery for the global economy and helped
weaken the yen. []
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the
SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, said holdings fell to 1,094.54 tonnes as
of July 14, declining for the first time in about a week.
Holdings were down 15.27 tonnes, or 1.4 percent. []
Darren Heathcote, head of trading at Investec Australia, said
the dip was a reflection of the weak sentiment in last week's
market when bullion slipped to around $905.
"So it was not surprising to see some investor interest being
unwound," he said.
He added, however, that he would not read too much into the
decline.
"I wouldn't consider it a change to the overall picture, the
overall trend, which I think is still relatively positive for
gold," Heathcote said.
In contrast, the world's largest silver-backed
exchange-traded fund, the iShares Silver Trust <SLV>, said its
silver holdings rose 0.5 percent to hit a record.
The New York-based trust said it added 42.07 tonnes, to reach
an all-time high of 8,766.93 tonnes as of July 14. []
In industry-related news, workers in South Africa's gold
sector rejected the latest offer for a pay rise of between 8
percent and 10 percent, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM)
said on Tuesday. []
The union said that a strike in the gold sector was "highly
likely" after the rejection.
The yen maintained a soft tone on Wednesday, after falling
the previous day. []
PRICES
Precious metals prices at 0300 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover
Spot Gold 925.80 1.20 +0.13 5.19
Spot Silver 12.94 0.06 +0.47 14.31
Spot Platinum 1138.00 10.50 +0.93 22.10
Spot Palladium 240.50 -0.50 -0.21 30.35
TOCOM Gold 2793.00 24.00 +0.87 8.55 20359
TOCOM Platinum 3441.00 82.00 +2.44 29.75 6834
TOCOM Silver 391.10 4.30 +1.11 22.49 94
TOCOM Palladium 737.00 21.00 +2.93 34.00 146
Euro/Dollar 1.3982
Dollar/Yen 93.47
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Reporting by Miho Yoshikawa;)
