SPDR Gold Trust gold holdings slip 2.5 pct on July 23

LONDON, July 23 (Reuters) - The amount of gold held in the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the SPDR Gold Trust GLD, fell 2.5 percent on Wednesday, the fund said on Thursday.

The fund, formerly known as StreetTRACKS Gold Trust, removed 16.86 tonnes of gold bullion on Wednesday to bring its total gold holding to 673.4 tonnes.

The trust's gold holdings have fallen by 32.19 tonnes over the last two days, representing nearly 5 percent of its total holding.

Spot gold prices have slid in recent days as falling oil prices, rising risk appetite and a firmer tone to the dollar dent the precious metal's appeal.

Spot gold <XAU=> touched a two-week low of $916.40 an ounce on Thursday, before climbing back to $924.60/925.60 an ounce at 1124 GMT, against $921.35/922.95 late in New York on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Jan Harvey; Editing by Michael Roddy)