* Gold rises further, holding near 4-month high
* ETF holdings hit record high as investors buy
* Oil slips, and dollar gains
(Updates prices)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, July 14 (Reuters) - Gold extended gains on
Monday, hovering near its highest level in almost four months
hit last week, and record high exchange-traded fund holdings
suggested flight-to-safety buying was gaining pace.
Gold <XAU=> rose to $965.00/966.00 an ounce from
$963.00/965.00 late in New York on Friday when it jumped as
high as $967.60, its strongest since March 19, as record high
oil and falling U.S. equities sparked buying from investors.
Gold was still below a lifetime high of $1,030.80 hit in
March. Silver held near its highest level in four months, while
platinum matched last week's one-week high.
"A retest of the record high is very possible now," said
Adrian Koh, analyst at Philip Futures in Singapore.
Bullion held by SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest
gold-backed exchange-traded fund, jumped to historic highs of
705.90 tonnes, surpassing a previous record around 663 tonnes
in March. <XAUEXT-NYS-TT>.
"Its definitely very positive for gold now. I guess the
break above the $950-$955 region triggered buying and that can
be seen in the sharp increase in ETF holdings," said Koh.
Investors buy gold as a hedge against inflation, and fears
of military confrontation between Iran and Israel have helped
send oil prices to lifetime highs. Volatility in equities and
currency markets also drives investors into safe-haven gold.
Oil fell $1.13 to $142.95 a barrel, hit by a rebound in the
dollar after the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve moved to
help embattled mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Oil
struck another record at $147.27 on Friday. []
The euro slipped to $1.5896 <EUR=> after the Treasury
increased its direct credit lines to the mortgage giants and
said it would buy their shares if necessary. []
"Psychologically, small specs might be trying to catch a top in
gold here and further stop triggers might allow gold to test
its nextresistance level at $980," said Gold Capital Management
in a report. "Current near-term support lies at $943."
Gold futures for August delivery <GCQ8> on the COMEX
division of the New York Mercantile Exchange added $5.4 an
ounce to $966.0.
Spot platinum <XPT=> rose to $2,035.50/2,055.50 an ounce
$2,023.00/2,043.00 late in New York, having earlier hit a high
of $2,045 an ounce. Spot palladium <XPD=> rose to
$451.00/459.00 an ounce from $448.50/456.50 an ounce late in
New York.
Silver <XAG=> edged up to $18.80/18.86 an ounce from
$18.76/18.84 late in New York. It jumped to $18.87 an ounce on
Friday, its strongest level since March 19, to track gains in
gold.
The most active Tokyo platinum contract for June 2009
delivery <0#JPL:> on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange ended the
morning session 25 yen per gram lower at 6,909 yen.
Precious metals prices at 0225 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 965.10 1.40 +0.15 15.90
Spot Silver 18.78 -0.01 -0.05 27.15
Spot Platinum 2035.50 12.50 +0.62 33.91
Spot Palladium 451.00 2.50 +0.56 22.55
TOCOM Gold 3335.00 45.00 +1.37 8.99
41058
TOCOM Platinum 6909.00 -25.00 -0.36 29.41
10070
TOCOM Silver 650.00 10.10 +1.58 20.15
1043
TOCOM Palladium 1594.00 -16.00 -0.99 17.99
514
Euro/Dollar 1.5897
Dollar/Yen 106.54
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 Urquhart)
