* Gold retains inverse connection to dollar
* SPDR Gold holdings <XAUEXT-NYS-TT> steady
By Miho Yoshikawa
TOKYO, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Gold slipped towards $940 on Monday
to extend losses from late last week when lacklustre U.S.
consumer confidence data clouded the economic outlook, causing
oil to fall and dulling the metal's appeal as an inflation hedge.
The precious metal is now nearing the month's trough of
$939.40 marked last week, while its fate remains closely tied in
an inverse correlation to the dollar.
"Gold's decline on Friday was seen as pretty negative and the
market's just on a bit of a follow-through this morning," said
Adrian Koh, an analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore.
Bullion ended lower on Friday as lacklustre U.S. consumer
confidence data cast doubts on a quick economic recovery, pushing
oil prices lower and causing inflation worries to ease.
Gold <XAU=> was $943.00 per ounce at 0300 GMT on Monday, down
0.3 percent from New York's notional close of $945.85.
It erased earlier gains which had lifted it as high as
$947.85.
U.S. gold futures for December delivery <GCZ9> were $945.0
per ounce, down 0.4 percent.
"As per usual, the dollar seems like its starting to
strengthen again and gold's certainly taken a step back on that,"
Koh said.
"Near-term support for gold should come in around the $940s,
and a break below those levels should see gold heading towards
the $920-$930 regions," he said.
That level was last seen in late July, when gold prices
dipped to a low of $925.10 on July 29.
U.S. crude oil futures <CLc1> slipped below $67 a barrel on
Monday, extending the previous session's 4.3 percent decline as
profit-taking continued following the release of poor U.S.
economic data. []
The euro <EUR=> slipped to $1.4175 from $1.4186. []
Japan's Nikkei average fell 2.2 percent on Monday. []
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the
SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, said its holdings stood at 1,065.49 tonnes
as of Aug. 14, unchanged since Aug. 11. []
Noncommercial net long U.S. gold futures positions fell 1.8
percent to 190,086 lots in the week to Aug. 11 from 193,514 lots,
a weekly report by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission
showed. []
In industry news, gold miner Newcrest Mining Ltd <NCM.AX>
reported an 85 percent rise in annual net profit to A$248 million
($206 million) on Monday thanks to higher gold prices, but still
below forecasts, while signalling higher production this year.
[]
PRICES
Precious metals prices at 0259 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover
Spot Gold 943.20 -2.65 -0.28 7.16
Spot Silver 14.42 -0.26 -1.77 27.39
Spot Platinum 1243.00 -11.50 -0.92 33.37
Spot Palladium 272.00 -1.50 -0.55 47.43
TOCOM Gold 2876.00 -68.00 -2.31 11.78 30647
TOCOM Platinum 3782.00 -121.00 -3.10 42.61 8260
TOCOM Silver 438.60 -23.40 -5.06 37.36 156
TOCOM Palladium 835.00 -17.00 -2.00 51.82 171
Euro/Dollar 1.4139
Dollar/Yen 94.49
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Michael Watson)
