* Dollar slips as rising stock markets boost risk appetite
* Oil prices rally on back of equity rise
* SPDR ETF holdings down more than 4 percent in 4 weeks
(Recasts with with New York prices, comment. Adds to
byline, dateline)
By Carole Vaporean and Jan Harvey
NEW YORK/LONDON, July 30 (Reuters) - Gold climbed to a high
of $936.80 an ounce on Thursday, tracking hefty gains in oil,
as a string of solid corporate earnings reports boosted Wall
Street equities as well as interest in higher risk assets.
The increased risk appetite caused many investors to unload
dollar holdings versus a basket of currencies, which added to
gold's allure. Gold's gains pulled lifted other precious
metals, with silver and palladium both rising nearly 2
percent.
Spot gold <XAU=> was bid at $933.20 an ounce by late New
York business against $929.00 an ounce late on Wednesday.
U.S. August gold <GCQ9> finished up $7.70, or 0.83 percent,
at $934.90 an ounce on the COMEX division of the New York
Mercantile Exchange.
On Friday, first delivery of the August contract begins and
December gold futures will move into the benchmark position.
The dollar slid against major currencies, helping drive
gold prices up along with other commodities. The dollar tumbled
as a rebound in global stocks dimmed the greenback's
attractiveness as a safe-haven. []
The dollar, the chief driver of gold, fell against a basket
of currencies as a firmer tone to world equity markets and
commodity prices eroded demand for the U.S. unit as a safe
haven. []
Gold becomes cheaper for holders of other currencies as the
dollar weakens.
"Gold found support below the $930 area along with weakness
in the dollar which supported the commodities across the board.
The energy complex is doing well, especially crude, and
certainly lending support to the gold market also," said David
Meger, Alaron Trading metals analyst in Chicago.
Gold prices slipped nearly 1 percent on Wednesday as the
dollar firmed, but found good support below $930 an ounce.
"Gold held the $927 level extremely well, and today is
coming back again," said Afshin Nabavi, head of trading at MKS
Finance in Geneva. "The stock market is up, oil is up, so gold
is following."
U.S. stocks rose as a string of solid corporate profits and
a drop in the number of Americans staying on jobless benefits
fuelled economic recovery hopes. []
The climb boosted oil prices, which rose over 5 percent to
their session peak amid hopes an economic recovery could
benefit demand. Rising crude prices often boost buying of gold
as a hedge against oil-led inflation. []
Gold demand in India, the world's biggest bullion consumer,
is recovering after recent price falls, but a further decline
will be needed for buying to significantly recover.
"There are advance orders in decent quantities in the range
of $900-920 an ounce," said one dealer with a state-run bank.
Overall demand in India remains weak, however. The
country's gold imports have reached a provisional 8-10 tonnes
in July so far, well below the 24 tonnes recorded last June,
the Bombay Bullion Association said. []
INVESTMENT SOFT
Investment demand for gold remained soft as ETF holdings
slipped further. Holdings of the largest bullion ETF, the SPDR
Gold Trust, fell over 10 tonnes on Wednesday, and are down
nearly 48 tonnes in the last four weeks. []
Jason Toussaint, managing director for exchange-traded gold
with the World Gold Council, said there was evidence investors
were selling out of the SPDR fund to buy shares.
Analysts fear a broader liquidation of ETF gold holdings
resulting from a recovery in risk appetite could jeopardise
gold's gains.
On the supply side, the world's largest gold producer,
Barrick Gold <ABX.TO>, said it produced 1.87 million ounces of
gold in the second quarter and is on track to meet its 2009
output target of 7.2-7.6 million ounces. []
Among other precious metals, silver <XAG=> tracked gold up
to $13.45 an ounce against $13.28. Spot platinum <XPT=> rose to
$1,180 an ounce against $1,170, while spot palladium <XPD=> was
at $257 against $252.50.
(Additional reporting by Martina Fuchs in London and Lewa
Pardomuan in Singapore; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
