PRECIOUS-Gold slips on firmer equities, ETF holdings slip

SINGAPORE, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Gold inched down in slow
trade on Monday after stock markets firmed on optimism the U.S.
economy would not fall back into recession, with a slight drop
in holdings in the ETF putting additional pressure.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold XAU= eased 74 cents to $1,247.30 an ounce by
0043 GMT, having fallen as low as $1,235.70 on Friday due to
fewer-than-expected U.S. job losses data.

* U.S. gold futures for December delivery GCZ0 fell $1.9
to $1,249.2 an ounce.

* The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund,
SPDR Gold Trust (GLD.P), said its holdings slipped to 1,294.442
tonnes by Sept 3 from 1,294.908 tonnes on Sept 2. The holdings
surged to a record 1,320.436 tonnes on June 29. [GOL/SPDR]

MARKET NEWS

* Japan's Nikkei average rose 0.9 percent on Monday, rising
for a fourth day, after U.S. stocks gained as data showing
fewer U.S. job losses than expected helped ease fears the
American economy is on the cusp of a new recession. [.T] [.N]

* U.S. non-farm payrolls fell 54,000, the Labor Department
said, a much smaller drop than the predicted 100,000. Private
employment, considered a better gauge of labour market health,
increased 67,000. [ID:nN02227856]

* The dollar was on the defensive on Monday after firm U.S.
payrolls data last week eased market anxiety over chances of a
double-dip recession and boosted demand for the euro and
growth-leveraged currencies. [USD/]

* Oil fell for a second straight session on Monday as peak
gasoline use in top consumer the United States waned with the
end of the summer driving season, while tepid growth in the
services sector signalled crude demand will be slow to pick up.
[O/R]

DATA EVENTS
- Euro zone Sentix index for September; 0830 GMT

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Precious metals prices at 0043 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 1247.30 -0.74 -0.06 13.84
Spot Silver 19.78 -0.09 -0.45 17.53
Spot Platinum 1561.00 7.60 +0.49 6.41
Spot Palladium 529.00 2.32 +0.44 30.46
TOCOM Gold 3396.00 -1.00 -0.03 4.20
13183
TOCOM Platinum 4262.00 35.00 +0.83 -2.72
7503
TOCOM Silver 54.10 0.70 +1.31 4.64
435
TOCOM Palladium 1440.00 21.00 +1.48 23.61
142
Euro/Dollar 1.2882
Dollar/Yen 84.45
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Reporting by Lewa Pardomuan; Editing by Manash Goswami)