* Cash gold heads for 1st weekly decline in three
* SPDR Gold Trust holdings edge up on Thursday
* Coming Up: Germany trade balance; 0600 GMT
(Adds quotes, background)
SINGAPORE, May 10 (Reuters) - U.S. gold futures slipped more
than 1 percent on Friday after the dollar rose against the euro
on brightening job prospects in the world's largest economy,
reducing bullion's appeal as an alternative investment.
Cash gold also fell, heading for its first weekly drop in
three, after U.S. data showed new claims for jobless aid fell
last week to the lowest level in more than five years, dampening
speculation the Federal Reserve may boost monetary stimulus and
hurting bullion's appeal as a hedge against inflation.
U.S. gold futures for June delivery hit a session
low of $1,452.30 an ounce and stood at $1,453.80 by 0050 GMT,
down $14.80. The contract was also heading for its first weekly
fall in three but a slight increase in exchange-traded holdings
could signal a change in sentiment.
"A stronger dollar has put pressure on gold prices. But this
morning, we saw that gold ETFs added some numbers. This is like
the first time in the last 50 days," Yuichi Ikemizu, branch
manager for Standard Bank in Tokyo.
"I guess this could be a very good sign for gold. Maybe we
have hit the bottom. If selling on the ETFs has stopped, then
gold naturally will go up."
Spot gold was at $1,454.76, down $2.94.
Cash and U.S. gold futures sank to around $1,321 on April
16, their lowest in over two years, after worries about central
bank sales and a drop below $1,500 led to a sell-off that
stunned investors, prompting them to slash ETF holdings.
SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed
exchange-traded fund, said its holdings rose 0.26 percent to
1,054.18 tonnes on Thursday from 1051.47 tonnes on Wednesday.
But the holdings were still near 4-year lows.
Asian shares eased on Friday, taking their cues from global
equities which took a breather from recent rallies overnight,
while the euro steadied against the dollar after dropping
to $1.3010 on EBS on Thursday, its lowest since April 29.
Japanese equities soared to fresh five-year highs as the
dollar's break above the symbolic 100 yen level underpinned
sentiment.
A falling yen lifted gold futures on Tokyo Commodity
Exchange, with the most active contract, currently April 2014
rising to its highest since mid-April.
Precious metals prices 0050 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Volume
Spot Gold 1454.76 -2.94 -0.20 -13.12
Spot Silver 23.62 -0.04 -0.17 -21.99
Spot Platinum 1499.50 -2.50 -0.17 -2.31
Spot Palladium 703.47 -0.53 -0.08 1.66
COMEX GOLD JUN3 1453.80 -14.80 -1.01 -13.25 14709
COMEX SILVER JUL3 23.59 -0.33 -1.36 -21.98 2501
Euro/Dollar 1.3025
Dollar/Yen 100.82
COMEX gold and silver contracts show the most active months
(Reporting by Lewa Pardomuan and Manono Serapio Jr; Editing by
Himani Sarkar)
