I am starting to get the rising tide lifts all boats feeling, if and when gold convincingly breaks a thousand we are off......
* U.S. headline inflation unchanged as expected; core CPI up
* Holdings by SPDR gold ETF XAUEXT-NYS-TT steady
* Bullion seen between $900-$930 in short term
By Rebekah Curtis and Jan Harvey
LONDON, May 15 (Reuters) - Gold climbed to its highest in six weeks on Friday after data showed U.S. core inflation rose more than expected in April, which boosted the precious metal's appeal as a hedge against rising prices.
Spot gold <XAU=> rallied to $930.45 an ounce, its highest since April 1 and was at $928.85 per ounce at 1427 GMT, compared with $925.35 quoted late in New York on Thursday. U.S. gold futures for June delivery GCM9 on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange edged up to $929.80 an ounce.
U.S. consumer prices were unchanged in April, the figures showed, but core prices, which exclude food and energy, rose 0.3 percent, versus a 0.2 percent rise in March. [ID:nN13408473]
"We've seen gold edging higher over the past week or so and quite a bit of that is inflation related," James Moore, an analyst at TheBullionDesk, said.
"Given the scale of quantitative easing that we have seen, the potential implications for inflation are quite large."
Gold is also deriving support from fears over the health of the global economy after a spate of disappointing economic data.
German gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by a much larger than expected 3.8 percent in the first three months of 2009, tightening nerves after a poor reading of U.S. April retail sales earlier this week [ID:nLF581891]
Gold shot to $930.40 earlier this week, its highest since April 1, buoyed by purchases for gold-backed exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
But buying has been hampered by a rebound in global stock markets .MIWD00000PUS in a reflection of improved appetite for assets connected with risk.
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the SPDR Gold Trust GLD, said holdings were unchanged at 1,105.62 tonnes on Thursday.
Gold may stay range-bound between $900 and $930 for a while because of a loss of momentum for the metal and as investors eye movements in the equities and oil markets, some analysts said.
PLATINUM WEEK
Platinum <XPT=> was at $1,107.50 ounce from $1,109.50.
The metal, used to clean exhaust fumes from vehicles, has lost about 3.5 percent over the past week, despite traditionally gaining ahead of the annual platinum week gathering in London, which begins on Monday with the launch of refiner Johnson Matthey's platinum report.
"Often, the run up to Platinum Week sees prices of this pricey metal move higher as investors anticipate good news from the mix of data and commentary from Johnson Matthey. So the recent weakness of platinum is all the more unusual," John Reade, UBS head of metals strategy, said in a note.
"The sell-off appears to have been driven by investor selling -- We have also heard talk of bank and fund selling of OTC and futures positions in anticipation of GM's likely move into Chapter 11 sometime in the next few weeks."
