Gold edges up as dollar eases; snaps four-day decline

REUTERS - Gold inched up on Wednesday to snap four sessions of decline as the U.S. dollar eased and selling by exchange-traded funds halted, but strong share prices looked set to cap gains.

FUNDAMENTALS

Gold had climbed 0.11 percent to $1,426.96 an ounce by 0014 GMT. It fell for a fourth consecutive session on Tuesday, its longest losing streak in over two months, as economic optimism and record high U.S. equities dimmed its appeal as a so-called safe haven.

U.S. gold for June rose 0.1 percent to $1,425.9.

Holdings of the largest gold-backed exchange-traded-fund (ETF), New York's SPDR Gold Trust GLD and those of the largest silver-backed ETF, New York's iShares Silver Trust SLV, remained unchanged on Monday from Friday.

Portugal will not replicate a deal that allowed Cyprus to sell its gold reserves under its bailout, its central bank said on Tuesday.

Platinum jewellery demand has grown in Europe as marketing efforts start to pay off, a leading UK jewellery producer said on Tuesday.

MARKET NEWS

The dollar edged lower in early Asian trade on Wednesday, but stayed close to its highest point against the yen in four and a half years on signs of an improving U.S. economy and rising Treasury yields.>

Japan's Nikkei share index broke above 15,000 and hit fresh 5-1/2 year highs on Wednesday, bolstered by a strong performance from Wall Street.

(Reporting by A. Ananthalakshmi; Editing by Lewa Pardomuan and Joseph Radford)