* Bullion near record $1,070.40/oz,poised for 4th weekly gain
* Weak dollar trend keeps luring buyers
By Risa Maeda
TOKYO, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Spot gold hovered around $1,060 an
ounce on Friday, after rising in the past two sessions, with
investors focusing on the pace of the dollar's slide after it hit
a new 14-month low versus the euro.
Gold <XAU=> edged up to $1,060.70 an ounce by 0315 GMT,
compared with New York's notional close of $1,060.00.
It is poised to rise 0.7 percent on the week, posting its
fourth straight week of gains.
Bullion hit a record high of $1,070.40 last week.
"The mood looks good enough for gold to test $1,070.40 in the
near future...The dollar is down against major European
currencies, Asian currencies are strong as well," said Kaname
Gokon, deputy general manager at Japanese commodity brokerage
Okato Shoji Co's research section.
"Gold has tested $1,050-$1,054, but in vain, because there
was solid buying. It's been resilient and that is generating a
consensus that that level is a floor for now," he said.
The greenback's weakness has increased investor interest in
the precious metal as a hedge against the U.S. currency. A weaker
dollar also makes gold cheaper for non-U.S. investors.
U.S. gold futures for December delivery <GCZ9> were at
$1,061.40 an ounce, up 0.3 percent, after falling $5.90 to
$1,058.60 on Thursday.
In the currency market, the dollar ground to its latest low
for the year against the euro <EUR=> on Friday as the market took
aim at options barriers, while sterling, a laggard in the broad
rally against the dollar, rose ahead of UK growth data. []
There are expectations that U.S. interest rates will remain
low for a long time, a view reconfirmed on Thursday by Chicago
Federal Reserve President Charles Evans who said policy
accommodation was still the top priority. []
Gold is also seen as a safe haven at a times when the
economic outlook is uncertain.
But so far, no strong money inflows have been detected going
into gold-backed securities.
Holdings of the SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, the world's largest
gold-backed exchange-traded fund, stood at 1,108.094 tonnes on
Thursday, unchanged from the previous business day when the
holdings fell 1.22 tonnes. []
An overnight report on a plan by Russia to sell gold abroad
for the first time since Soviet era has had little impact on the
gold market, traders said.
Interfax reported on Thursday that the government has already
approved the sales, with the amount undisclosed, by Russia's
State Precious Metals and Gemstones Repository.
Precious metals prices at 0012 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover
Spot Gold 1060.45 0.45 +0.04 20.49
Spot Silver 17.67 0.02 +0.11 56.10
Spot Platinum 1365.50 0.50 +0.04 46.51
Spot Palladium 334.50 0.50 +0.15 81.30
TOCOM Gold 3136.00 18.00 +0.58 21.88 35349
TOCOM Platinum 4038.00 18.00 +0.45 52.26 9589
TOCOM Silver 520.20 3.60 +0.70 62.92 257
TOCOM Palladium 990.00 -2.00 -0.20 80.00 190
Euro/Dollar 1.5026
Dollar/Yen 91.63
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Joseph Radford)
