* Gold edges up, SDPR holdings hit record
* For the technical outlook for gold; click on
[]
* Coming Up: U.S. Initial jobless claims weekly; 1230 GMT
(Updates prices, adds quotes)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, May 27 (Reuters) - Gold ticked higher on
Thursday as worries about Europe's debt woes attracted buying
from investors, while holdings in the world's largest
bullion-backed exchange-traded fund rose to another record.
A jump in India's gold demand in the first quarter
suggested the world's largest consumer started to get used to
the high prices. Jewellery demand rose to 147.5 tonnes from
37.7 tonnes in the first quarter of 2009, when a rise in prices
curbed buying. [] []
Spot gold <XAU=> was at $1,213.25 an ounce by 0245 GMT, up
$3.35 from New York's notional close on Wednesday. Gold hit a
record high of $1,248.95 in mid-May as investors ditched the
euro on fears that euro zone austerity measures could hurt,
rather than help, a recovery.
Bullion dropped to a two-week low last week as investors
sold the metal to cover losses in equities but analysts said
the subsequent recovery showed that sentiment was still
bullish.
For a graphic showing the gold technical outlook, see:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/WT_20102705090254.jpg
"The safe haven interest in gold is pretty strong," said
David Moore, commodity strategist at Commonwealth Bank of
Australia in Sydney.
"In terms of selling gold to cover losses in other markets,
I don't think they will be a significant constraint on the gold
price. Jewellery gold demand was actually pretty strong in the
March quarter, relatively speaking, particularly in India."
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the
SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, said its holdings totalled 1,267.626
tonnes as of May 26, from 1,267.322 tonnes a day earlier,
setting a fresh record high. []
U.S. gold futures for June delivery <GCM0> hardly changed
at $1,213.7 an ounce.
"I think there's a mixture of activity today. We've seen
profit taking but there's also some buying," said a dealer in
Hong Kong. "For the time being, everyone is cautiously bullish.
People are still talking about the euro."
The euro approached a four-year low against the dollar and
an 8-1/2-year low against the yen on Thursday as a sell-off led
by nagging worries about Europe's debt trouble showed no signs
of abating. [] <.DXY>
Japan's Nikkei average hit its lowest in six months on
Thursday, with exporters hurt by a stronger yen and after U.S.
stocks fell as news suggesting China was reassessing its
euro-zone debt holdings pushed investors to take profits. []
Precious metals prices at 0245 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 1213.25 3.35 +0.28 10.73
Spot Silver 18.16 0.15 +0.83 7.90
Spot Platinum 1529.00 10.50 +0.69 4.23
Spot Palladium 437.00 0.50 +0.11 7.77
TOCOM Gold 3521.00 12.00 +0.34 8.04
30793
TOCOM Platinum 4444.00 36.00 +0.82 1.44
12494
TOCOM Silver 53.10 0.30 +0.57 2.71
483
TOCOM Palladium 1273.00 -22.00 -1.70 9.27
421
Euro/Dollar 1.2209
Dollar/Yen 89.98
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Ed Lane)
