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PRECIOUS-Gold flat; Greek vote cuts safe-haven interest

Published 07/01/2011, 02:17 AM
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* Platinum, palladium outperform in weekly performance

* iShares Silver Trust holdings post outflow for 3rd month

* Coming up: Reuters/UMich sentiment, June; 1355 GMT (Updates prices)

By Rujun Shen

SINGAPORE, July 1 (Reuters) - Spot gold held steady on Friday, set to cap a week marked by a narrow trading range as Greece's approval of austerity measures diminished safe-haven demand for bullion in the short term.

Greece's parliament passed the final austerity measures on Thursday, to secure emergency funding from international lenders and avert a debt default.

Just as investors watch how Greece will implement these unpopular measures, troubling signs from the U.S. economy are likely to help retain gold's appeal over the longer term.

The latest U.S. data painted a mixed picture, with factory activity in the Midwest accelerating in June, but initial jobless claims last week higher than expected, just as the Federal Reserve's $600 billion bond purchase programme ended.

Spot gold was little changed at $1,498.70 an ounce by 0602 GMT, nearly flat from a week earlier.

U.S. gold edged down 0.3 percent to $1,499.10

"The seeming resolution of the Greece crisis has probably hurt gold, but I think there's enough interest from the Chinese and central banks to sustain it at around $1,500 for now," said David Thurtell, an analyst at Citigroup.

Gold has been trading in a range between $1,490 and $1,514 this week, off last week's peak of $1,557.75. Interest in the physical market grew when prices fell below $1,500, but demand alone is unlikely to lift prices above the current range, traders said.

Gold was the best-performing metal in the second quarter, during which commodities posted the largest quarterly loss since the 2008 financial crisis led by steep sell-offs in grains and oil.

Spot silver inched down 0.4 percent to $34.51, headed for a 0.6-percent weekly rise, snapping two consecutive weeks of decline.

"Silver fundamentals remain weak and heavily dependent on investor interest to plug the gap," said Barclays Capital in a research note.

Interest in exchange-traded products has diminished.

Holdings in the iShares Silver Trust , the world's largest silver-backed exchange-traded fund, dipped to 9,536.65 tonnes by June 30, marking the third month of consecutive outflow with a monthly drop of 404.68 tonnes.

Platinum group metals, used in various industrial applications, outperformed gold and silver this week, boosted by the global stock market which rallied to a one-month high as Greece's debt crisis eases.

Spot platinum lost 0.6 percent to $1,710.24, on course for a 1.8 percent weekly gain.

Spot palladium edged down 0.2 percent to $750.75, poised for a gain of more than 3 percent on the week.

Precious metals prices 0602 GMT Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Volume Spot Gold 1498.70 -0.90 -0.06 5.58 Spot Silver 34.51 -0.14 -0.40 11.83 Spot Platinum 1710.24 -9.91 -0.58 -3.24 Spot Palladium 750.75 -1.50 -0.20 -6.10 TOCOM Gold 3897.00 -16.00 -0.41 4.51 46294 TOCOM Platinum 4495.00 -15.00 -0.33 -4.28 9503 TOCOM Silver 89.70 -0.60 -0.66 10.74 543 TOCOM Palladium 1961.00 -10.00 -0.51 -6.49 237 COMEX GOLD AUG1 1499.10 -3.70 -0.25 5.47 7594 COMEX SILVER JUL1 34.57 -0.25 -0.71 11.72 112 Euro/Dollar 1.4511 Dollar/Yen 80.67 TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce. COMEX gold and silver contracts show the most active months (Editing by Ed Lane)

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