PRECIOUS-Gold firms on weak dollar; ETF unchanged

* Bullion caught in recent $940-$960 range

* SPDR Gold ETF holdings XAUEXT-NYS-TT unchanged

TOKYO, June 12 (Reuters) - Gold prices steadied on Friday,
supported by a weaker dollar, although gains in equities amid
increasing investor risk appetite sapped further buying.

Gold tested a psychological target of $1,000 an ounce last
week as a steadily weakening dollar combined with better economic
sentiment boosted investment demand.

But it stopped rising at $989.80 and fell as the dollar
rallied on an encouraging U.S. jobs data late last week, before
paring gains this week.

Spot gold XAU= rose 0.2 percent to $955.85 per ounce as of
0249 GMT from New York's notional close of $954.00 on Thursday,
when it climbed as high as $961.70.

U.S. gold futures for August delivery GCQ9 fell 0.5 percent
to $957.10 per ounce, compared with Thursday's settlement of
$962.00 on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile
Exchange.

"Within this range, we don't see much activity...It depends
on the performance of the U.S. dollar," said Beh Hsia Wah, a
dealer at United Overseas Bank in Singapore, referring to the
recent $940 to $960 range for spot gold.

"I don't expect much from the market and I don't know where
it is going (in the near future), to be frank," she added.

Bullion is poised to end the week almost flat after falling
2.4 percent last week. It has risen more than 10 percent in the
past eight weeks from an April trough of $864.00.

A weak dollar makes gold cheaper for non-U.S. investors and
also makes it appealing to investors looking to hedge the value
of dollar-based assets.

The dollar edged down against other major currencies on
Friday after improved labour market and retail sales figures in
the United States boosted optimism about the economy and aided
Wall Street, eroding the dollar's allure as a safe haven. [USD/]
[.N]

Japan's Nikkei share average .N225 gained about 1 percent
to hit its highest level in eight months on Friday as improving
confidence about the health of the global economy spurred
broad-based gains.

The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the
SPDR Gold Trust (GLD: Quote, Profile, Research), said its holdings were steady at 1,132.15
tonnes as of June 11, unchanged since June 5. [GOL/SPDR]
Precious metals prices at 0255
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover
Spot Gold 955.70 1.70 +0.18 14.77
Spot Silver 15.37 0.00 +0.00 4.06
Spot Platinum 1266.00 5.00 +0.40 -16.71
Spot Palladium 255.00 1.00 +0.39 -30.71
TOCOM Gold 3018.00 -6.00 -0.20 -1.37 20139
TOCOM Platinum 3997.00 10.00 +0.25 -25.14 6487
TOCOM Silver 482.60 3.90 +0.81 -10.79 167
TOCOM Palladium 819.00 3.00 +0.37 -39.38 272
Euro/Dollar 1.4124
Dollar/Yen 97.66
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Reporting by Risa Maeda; Editing by Joseph Radford)