* Gold retreats as dollar boosted by jobs data
* ECB says it has no bias on interest rates
* SPDR Gold Trust ETF holdings spike 2.2 percent on July 2
(Recasts after U.S. data, adds comment, detail, updates prices)
By Jan Harvey and Raissa Kasolowsky
LONDON, July 3 (Reuters) - Gold retreated on Thursday on a
rising dollar, boosted by in-line U.S. jobs data and comments
from the European Central Bank after its rate rise that were
less hawkish than expected.
Gold <XAU=> was at $934.00/935.00 an ounce at 1420 GMT,
slightly down from $942.60/943.60 an ounce late in New York on
Wednesday.
"Part of it is the U.S. dollar but the market may also been
expecting more hawkish comments from the ECB," said Standard
Bank analyst Walter de Wet.
The dollar rose versus the euro <EUR=> after data showed
U.S. employers cut workers from their payrolls for the sixth
straight month in June, while the unemployment rate held steady
at 5.5 percent. []
The U.S. Labor Department said 62,000 jobs were lost from
non-farm payrolls last month compared with forecasts that 60,000
jobs would be lost in June.
Comments by European Central Bank President Jean-Claude
Trichet that they have no bias in terms of interest rates had
also helped boost the dollar, analysts said. []
The ECB raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter
percentage point to 4.25 percent.
Gold typically moves in the opposite direction to the U.S.
currency, as it is bought as an alternative investment. A
stronger dollar also makes dollar-priced gold more expensive for
holders of other currencies.
MIXED FUNDAMENTALS
Bullion hit a high of $946.50 an ounce on Wednesday, its
strongest level since April 17 on buying triggered by worries
about inflation and record high oil prices.
On the fundamental side, investment demand from gold
remained strong, with gold holdings of the SPRD Gold Trust
jumping 2.2 percent on Wednesday to 658.57 tonnes.
New York-based SPDR, which is the world's largest
exchange-traded fund back by physical gold, is now at its
highest since March 18, when its holdings stood at a record.
Jewellery demand however remains soft, analysts say.
"People are worried about the fundamentals of demand at
these kind of levels," said Fairfax analyst Marc Elliott.
"Jewellers are just not going to be participating (in the
market), and it is a seasonally weak period."
Australia's largest independent gold miner, Newcrest Mining
<NCM.AX>, said meanwhile that it completed the buyback of its
hedge-book.
Newcrest said it bought back just over 4 million ounces of
gold at an average purchase price of A$868 an ounce, A$70 lower
than the average spot price over the period.
In other precious metals, spot platinum <XPT=> was at
$2,024.00/2,044.50 an ounce from $2,065.50/2,085.50 late in New
York on Wedensday.
Spot palladium <XPD=> was down at $460.00/468.00 an ounce
from $463.00/471.00 an ounce.
Silver <XAG=> edged down to $18.12/18.18 from $18.32/18.39
an ounce. The metal is taking some support from ongoing strike
action in Peru, the world's biggest producer of the metal.
(Additional reporting by Raissa Kasolowsky; editing by David
Evans)
