* Bargain hunters lift gold but price below $1,200/oz
* For the technical outlook on gold; click on
[]
* Coming Up: Weekly U.S. jobless claims; 1230 GMT
(Updates prices, adds premiums)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, May 20 (Reuters) - Gold gained on Thursday but
hovered around $50 below its record high, while the world's
largest gold-backed ETF rose to a lifetime high as investors
sought safety from turmoil in the financial markets.
Europe's debt crisis has burnished gold's safe-haven
appeal, but speculators who lost money in stocks were also
selling bullion to cover losses. Gold hit a record of $1,248.95
on Friday and has gained as much as 14 percent this year.
Premiums for gold bars were steady in Singapore but
improved in Hong Kong as jewellers returned to the physical
market after prices slipped. <GOLD/ASIA1>
Spot gold <XAU=> was at $1,197.10 an ounce by 0500 GMT, up
$6.35 from New York's notional close on Wednesday, when it
dropped below $1,200 to its weakest in more than a week, partly
driven by worries of long positions in COMEX futures.
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For a graphic of the gold technical outlook, showing that a
retracement may be complete, click:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/WT_20102005093036.jpg
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"There's a bit of bargain hunting. We can say we'll see
some support around $1,180 and then we may start a little bit
of recovery and consolidate around $1,200," said Ronald Leung,
director of Lee Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong.
"I think sentiment still maintains at slightly bullish.
There are still many uncertainties around the corner. Nobody
wants to dump gold too much. Only speculators dump gold."
The SPDR Gold Trust <GLD.P> said its holdings rose to
1,220.152 tonnes as of May 19 from 1,217.108 tonnes in the
previous business day. []
U.S. gold futures for June delivery <GCM0> added $4.30 an
ounce to $1,197.4 an ounce. The June contract had fallen four
out of the last five sessions after a rally to a record high
just shy of $1,250 an ounce last week. []
Silver <XAG=>, platinum <XPT=> and palladium <XPD=> bounced
higher from Wednesday's lows.
The euro held above four-year lows on Thursday on short
covering by investors but sentiment was fragile with many
fretting over policy disarray in the euro zone. []
Dealers expected the euro's latest bounce higher against
the dollar to be short-lived, with many expecting near-term
resistance at around $1.2445, its May 18 high.
Investors were also worried about increased uncertainty
over market regulation in the euro zone.
In the physical sector, dealers noted bargain hunting from
jewellers in Hong Kong, while the discounts for gold bars in
Tokyo narrowed to 50 cents from as high as $1 last week.
"We've been seeing selling from the general public
recently, but liquidation seems to be slowing down this week,"
said a physical dealer in Tokyo.
Japan's Nikkei average fell 0.7 percent on Thursday,
extending losses that took it to an 11-week closing low the day
before, as the euro's retreat from a rebound pushed shares of
exporters lower. []
Precious metals prices at 0459 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 1197.10 6.35 +0.53 9.25
Spot Silver 18.23 0.10 +0.55 8.32
Spot Platinum 1618.50 18.50 +1.16 10.33
Spot Palladium 460.25 3.25 +0.71 13.50
TOCOM Gold 3540.00 -55.00 -1.53 8.62
57684
TOCOM Platinum 4811.00 -101.00 -2.06 9.82
29856
TOCOM Silver 54.40 -1.20 -2.16 5.22
681
TOCOM Palladium 1352.00 -72.00 -5.06 16.05
1002
Euro/Dollar 1.2351
Dollar/Yen 91.73
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
