By Lewa Pardomuan SINGAPORE, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Gold extended losses onTuesday as renewed concerns about euro-zone debt put pressureon the euro and offset hopes of further monetary easing in theUnited States. A slight decline in ETF holdings also weighed on gold,which struck a lifetime high last week. Silver eased afterrising to another 30-year high the previous day, but the metalhas gained in popularity as a cheaper alternative to bullionfor investment. Spot gold fell 65 cents to $1,314.55 an ounce by 0332 GMT,down from a lifetime high around $1,320 hit last Friday. Goldhas gained as much as 20 percent this year, partly driven byexpectations the Federal Reserve would take fresh steps to aidthe economy. "I think gold is consolidating. This is also related to theeuro which has dropped below $1.37," said Dick Poon, manager atHeraeus in Hong Kong. "It seems there's for profit taking for the time being. Idon't see a substantial decline," said Poon, adding thatselling on the physical market was also limited.^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ For a 24-hour gold technical outlook, see:http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/WT/20100510085238.jpg^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ U.S. gold futures for December delivery slipped $2.5 anounce to $1,314.3 after settling $1 lower on Monday as newsfrom Ireland, Portugal and Greece put pressure on the euro. The euro fell 0.2 percent to around $1.3660 on Tuesday,extending losses after it hit a 6 1/2-month high around $1.38.The euro had rallied against a broadly weakening dollar onexpectations the Fed will wade into quantitative easing. A stronger U.S. currency tends to weigh ondollar-denominated commodities, making them more expensive forholders of other currencies. "I think gold may still be underpinned by some financialworries in the euro-zone countries. But I think recently, or atleast for this month, gold is actually taking its cue from thedollar," said a dealer in Singapore. "That's why gold is under pressure." The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDRGold Trust said its holdings fell to 1,301.913 tonnes by Oct 4from 1,302.345 tonnes on Oct 1. The world's largest silver-backed exchange-traded fund, theiShares Silver Trust, said its holdings fell to 9,782.88 tonnesby Oct 4 from a record of 9,786.47 tonnes on Sept 29. "While the physical market is in surplus, investment demandhas the upper Hand, rebounding along with the rally in the goldprice," BNP Paribas said in a report. "Looking ahead, we expect the silver price to remain high,averaging $18.50 an ounce in 2010 and $19.70 an ounce in 2011.In the short term, however, the silver price is vulnerable to acorrection should gold prices retreat." London silver fix price reached $25 in September, 1980,according to The Silver Institute, a U.S.-based industrialgroup. Silver is used in jewellery, photography andelectronics. Precious metals prices at 0332 GMT Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chgTurnover Spot Gold 1314.55 -0.65 -0.05 19.97 Spot Silver 21.86 -0.11 -0.50 29.89 Spot Platinum 1666.50 1.65 +0.10 13.60 Spot Palladium 557.25 -0.58 -0.10 37.42 TOCOM Gold 3538.00 -4.00 -0.11 8.56 15879 TOCOM Platinum 4492.00 -19.00 -0.42 2.53 7108 TOCOM Silver 59.00 -0.60 -1.01 14.12 285 TOCOM Palladium 1505.00 -24.00 -1.57 29.18 244 Euro/Dollar 1.3655 Dollar/Yen 83.50 TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce. (Editing by Ed Lane) (lewa.pardomuan@thomson reuters.com; +65 6870 3834; ReutersMessaging: lewa.pardomuan.reuters.com@reuters.net))

Source