* Bullion near record $1,070.40/oz,poised for 4th weekly gain
* Weak dollar trend keeps luring buyers
* Yen-based TOCOM gold prices hit year highs on USD/JPY rise
By Risa Maeda
TOKYO, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Spot gold held above $1,060 an
ounce on Friday and was on track to post its fourth straight week
of gains, 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 $1,061.70 an ounce by 0536 GMT, up
0.2 percent from New York's notional close of $1,060.00. At its
current level, it is poised to rise 0.7 percent on the 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 (the downside at) $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
$1,062.50 an ounce, up 0.4 percent, after falling $5.90 to
$1,058.60 on Thursday.
After hitting record highs above $1,070 per ounce last week,
gold prices have been in a narrow range centering around $1,060.
A manager with a top Japanese trading house said next week
could be crucial in determining whether the market will enter a
short-term downtrend or not, as funds, which typically adjust
positions at the end of the month, could unwind some of their
long positions after seeing volatility fall over the past week.
While the dollar ground to its latest low for the year
against the euro <EUR=> on Friday as the market took aim at
options barriers, it has recovered against the yen, trading
closer to 92 yen <JPY=>.
Yen-based gold prices on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange have
successively hit year highs this week as the dollar strengthened
against the yen from just below 90 yen earlier in the week.
By one estimate, provided that spot gold holds at $1,060, a 1
yen fall against the dollar will push up yen gold prices by 34
yen. TOCOM gold prices hit a year high of 3,140 yen <JAUc6> on
Friday. Its Relative Strength Index stood at 81, indicating the
market was overbought.
The dollar remains broadly pressured by 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. []
Precious metals prices at 0536 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover
Spot Gold 1061.65 1.65 +0.16 20.62
Spot Silver 17.66 0.01 +0.06 56.01
Spot Platinum 1370.00 5.00 +0.37 47.00
Spot Palladium 335.00 1.00 +0.30 81.57
TOCOM Gold 3138.00 20.00 +0.64 21.96 44073
TOCOM Platinum 4047.00 27.00 +0.67 52.60 13078
TOCOM Silver 520.90 4.30 +0.83 63.14 334
TOCOM Palladium 991.00 -1.00 -0.10 80.18 308
Euro/Dollar 1.5017
Dollar/Yen 91.64
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; Editing by Chris
Gallagher)
