* Gold inches down, looks to equities for direction
* Gold ETF dips, first decline since early January
* SPDR Gold Trust holdings dip from record high
By Miho Yoshikawa
TOKYO, March 9 (Reuters) - Gold eased a touch on Monday to
hover below $940 after gaining the previous session, and traders
said it may stay below that level as there was little to drive
trade in Asian market hours.
A dealer based in Hong Kong said there was some small local
buying earlier in the session, but that it had fizzled out at
about $940.
"It seems like we haven't got much of a lead," he said,
referring to stocks and currency markets.
Spot gold <XAU=> was down 0.4 percent to $935.60 an ounce as
of 0239 GMT from New York's notional close on Friday.
"I doubt there will be enough buying to keep prices above
$940 in the short run," the Hong Kong trader said.
Bullion has so far moved between $933.85 and $941.75.
Japan's Nikkei average fell 1.5 percent on Monday, after
booking a four-month closing low the previous trading day, hurt
by automakers such as Honda Motor <7267.T> amid worries about the
fate of General Motors <GM.N>. []
Fund managers say prices could hold around current levels due
to weak jewelry demand and as short-term traders take profits
after a sharp rally that pushed gold above an 11-month high above
$1,000 an ounce on Feb. 20.
This is not far from a record of $1,030.80 hit last March.
The precious metal edged higher on Friday as stocks reversed
initial gains but trade was choppy after payrolls data showed the
U.S. economy shed more than half a million jobs in February.
Fund activity has remained fairly quiet since last week
despite the roughly $20 rise in price.
Waning interest in gold was also highlighted by a decline in
holdings of gold-backed exchange traded funds.
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the
SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, said its holdings eased to 1,028.99 tonnes
as of March 8, down 0.3 tonne from the record 1,029.29 tonnes
that was first hit on Feb. 26. []
This marked the first decline since early January.
Ronald Leung, director of Lee Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong
Kong, said consumers have become very cautious about buying at
this level with no end yet in sight to the economic downtrend.
"Consumer buying is very minimal," he said.
High prices and the economic downturn have battered Abu
Dhabi's gold market, cutting retail sales by more than 70 percent
on the year in February, the Gulf emirate's gold and jewellery
group chairman said on Sunday. []
The dollar dipped against the yen and euro on Monday as
investors trimmed safe-haven buying of the greenback after last
week's U.S. payrolls data showed that job losses were less severe
than many had feared. []
Precious metals prices at 0246 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover
Spot Gold 936.00 80.45 +9.40 6.35
Spot Silver 11.39 0.01 +0.09 0.62
Spot Platinum 922.50 -3.50 -0.38 -1.02
Spot Palladium 182.00 0.00 +0.00 -1.36
TOCOM Gold 2447.00 -12.00 -0.49 -4.90 19496
TOCOM Platinum 2619.00 -38.00 -1.43 -1.24 6596
TOCOM Silver 321.60 0.00 +0.00 0.72 117
TOCOM Palladium 524.00 -12.00 -2.24 -4.73 182
Euro/Dollar 1.2681
Dollar/Yen 98.37
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Additional reporting by Chikako Mogi)
