PRECIOUS-Gold slips on firmer equities, ETF holdings slip

SINGAPORE, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Gold inched down in slow trade on Monday after stock markets firmed on optimism the U.S. economy would not fall back into recession, with a slight drop in holdings in the ETF putting additional pressure.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold <XAU=> eased 74 cents to $1,247.30 an ounce by 0043 GMT, having fallen as low as $1,235.70 on Friday due to fewer-than-expected U.S. job losses data.

* U.S. gold futures for December delivery <GCZ0> fell $1.9 to $1,249.2 an ounce.

* The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust <GLD.P>, said its holdings slipped to 1,294.442 tonnes by Sept 3 from 1,294.908 tonnes on Sept 2. The holdings surged to a record 1,320.436 tonnes on June 29. [GOL/SPDR]

MARKET NEWS

* Japan's Nikkei average rose 0.9 percent on Monday, rising for a fourth day, after U.S. stocks gained as data showing fewer U.S. job losses than expected helped ease fears the American economy is on the cusp of a new recession. [.T] [.N]

* U.S. non-farm payrolls fell 54,000, the Labor Department said, a much smaller drop than the predicted 100,000. Private employment, considered a better gauge of labour market health, increased 67,000. [ID:nN02227856]

* The dollar was on the defensive on Monday after firm U.S. payrolls data last week eased market anxiety over chances of a double-dip recession and boosted demand for the euro and growth-leveraged currencies. [USD/]

* Oil fell for a second straight session on Monday as peak gasoline use in top consumer the United States waned with the end of the summer driving season, while tepid growth in the services sector signalled crude demand will be slow to pick up. [O/R]

DATA EVENTS - Euro zone Sentix index for September; 0830 GMT

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[nN0359733] > Debt levels should fall after pre-crisis jump -BIS[nLDE6821IL] > Obama says his economic policies halted 'bleeding'[nN04161947] > Japan Noda warns on yen, says joint steps hard [nTOE68300K] > ECB's Trichet urges European unity at IMF [nLDE68305Z] > G20 members agree economic recovery to continue [nTOE683012] > Obama to propose permanent research tax credit [nN05171870] > ECB's Bini Smaghi says rates appropriate [nLDE68301X] > U.S. payrolls data offer ray of hope for recovery [nN02227856] > China 2010 trade surplus seen at $150 bln - paper [nTOE68300L] Precious metals prices at 0043 GMT Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover Spot Gold 1247.30 -0.74 -0.06 13.84 Spot Silver 19.78 -0.09 -0.45 17.53 Spot Platinum 1561.00 7.60 +0.49 6.41 Spot Palladium 529.00 2.32 +0.44 30.46 TOCOM Gold 3396.00 -1.00 -0.03 4.20 13183 TOCOM Platinum 4262.00 35.00 +0.83 -2.72 7503 TOCOM Silver 54.10 0.70 +1.31 4.64 435 TOCOM Palladium 1440.00 21.00 +1.48 23.61 142 Euro/Dollar 1.2882 Dollar/Yen 84.45 TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce. (Reporting by Lewa Pardomuan; Editing by Manash Goswami)