PRECIOUS-Gold holds above $950, ETF steady

* Gold hovers a little above $950, caution creeps in

* SPDR holdings XAUEXT-NYS-TT unchanged since July 22

By Miho Yoshikawa

TOKYO, July 28 (Reuters) - Gold was little changed on
Tuesday, holding above $950 but off the previous day's 6-½ week
high, as caution returned after prices neared the $960 mark.

Gold has mostly moved in a range of $945-$960 per ounce for
the past week with strong technical resistance towards the $960
level, which was last touched on June 11. Gains have also been
capped by weak physical demand.

High prices combined with the fact that it is a slow season
for gold demand have forced jewellers in India, the world's
largest consumer of the metal, to step back to the sidelines.
[ID:nSP467046]

Gold XAU= was at $952.40 an ounce at 0253 GMT, down about
0.03 percent from the notional close in New York of $952.65. It
rose to a 6-1/2-week high of $958.70 on Monday.

U.S. gold futures for August delivery GCQ9 were at $952.7
an ounce, down about 0.1 percent.

Kazuhiko Saito, chief analyst at Tokyo's Fujitomi Co Ltd,
said market activity would be slow as the euro's level versus the
dollar, a key reason behind Monday's rally, had not changed
significantly from the previous day.

The euro held firm against the dollar on Tuesday after
hitting its highest in eight weeks the previous day, when a jump
in U.S. new-home sales encouraged investors to seek riskier
assets. [USD/]

Saito also said investors were shifting their funds to the
stock market, a fact underscored by the decline in holdings of
exchange-traded funds.

"You can see that gold ETFs have been falling for a while
now," Saito said.

The world's largest gold-backed ETF, the SPDR Gold Trust
(GLD), said holdings stood at 1,086.61 tonnes as of July 27,
unchanged since July 22. [GOL/SPDR]

They have fallen about 4.2 percent since hitting a record of
1,134.03 tonnes on June 1.

Saito added that inflation fears, which often benefits gold
as it spurs buying among investors seeking a hedge, have receded
at least for now.

"Inflation is not being seen as a factor in the current
market," he said.

In industry news, Harmony Gold (HARJ.J) said it had stoped
production at a mine shaft in Mpumalanga, South Africa, after a
fatal accident there on Friday. [ID:nWEA2603]

South Africa's Chamber of Mines said on Monday it saw a good
possibility of reaching a wage deal with workers in the gold and
coal mining sectors, putting an end to week-long talks and strike
threats. [ID:nWEA2646]

Spot platinum XPT=, which rose to a near six-week high on
Monday and helped buoy gold, lost ground on Tuesday.

The metal, used in autocatalysts, was trading at $1,202.50
per ounce, down 1.03 percent from New York.

The world's biggst platinum producer, Anglo Platinum (AMSJ.J)
said its first-half production of the refined metal rose 6
percent from a year before and reiterated its full-year target of
2.4 million ounces for the full year. [ID:nLR76707]
PRICES
Precious metals prices at 025 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover
Spot Gold 952.35 -0.30 -0.03 8.20
Spot Silver 13.99 -0.02 -0.14 23.59
Spot Platinum 1203.00 -12.00 -0.99 29.08
Spot Palladium 258.00 -1.00 -0.39 39.84
TOCOM Gold 2918.00 -2.00 -0.07 13.41 20008
TOCOM Platinum 3691.00 5.00 +0.14 39.18 10144
TOCOM Silver 428.30 0.20 +0.05 34.14 142
TOCOM Palladium 791.00 -2.00 -0.25 43.82 281
Euro/Dollar 1.4224
Dollar/Yen 94.97
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Reporting by Miho Yoshikawa; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)