* Volume light as London markets closed
* Mario Draghi says ECB standing ready for another rate cut
* Outflows from gold-backed ETFs continue
* Coming up: U.S. consumer credit data due Tuesday
(Updates throughout, adds comment, second byline, dateline)
By Frank Tang and Jan Harvey
NEW YORK/LONDON, May 6 (Reuters) - Gold eased in quiet trade
on Monday on continued outflows in bullion-backed
exchange-traded funds, and investors were still weighing the
metal's inflation-hedge appeal after last week's encouraging
U.S. jobs data.
Trading volume was much lower than usual as London markets
were closed due to the Bank Day holiday.
The metal largely ignored comments by European Central Bank
President Mario Draghi affirming ECB's readiness to cut interest
rates again if the euro zone economy deteriorates further. Last
week, the central bank cut rates to a record low.
Outflows from bullion-backed exchange-traded products, which
have hit record levels in recent months, continued but appear to
have slowed. The world's largest gold-backed ETF, SPDR Gold
Trust, reported an outflow of 3.6 tonnes on Friday.
"We continue to believe exchange-traded product outflows
remain a key downside risk in the near term," said Suki Cooper,
precious metals strategist at Barclays Capital.
Cooper said the risk of further losses in bullion held by
gold ETPs is likely to decline if gold prices recover to above
$1,500 an ounce.
Spot gold was down 0.1 percent to $1,468.70 an ounce
by 1:51 p.m. EDT (1751 GMT).
U.S. Comex gold futures for June delivery edged up
$3.80 to settle at $1,468, with trading volume at just over
80,000 lots, about 65 percent below its 30-day average,
preliminary Reuters data showed.
Some buyers have been lured back to the gold market after
bullion posted a second consecutive week of gains last week,
which suggested last month's price slide to the lowest level in
more than two years has run its course for now, analysts said.
Bullion held firm and ended flat on Friday after data showed
U.S. employment rose more than expected in April, which eased
concerns over the U.S. recovery and dampened talk that further
monetary easing may be necessary.
"With the Fed's recent commitment to stand ready to alter
the pace of QE, based on employment and inflation expectations,
bullion prices are likely to remain highly sensitive to changes
in U.S. employment data," HSBC said in a note.
PHYSICAL DEMAND FIRM, PREMIUM HIGH
Dealers pointed out rising demand from China, the world's
second-largest gold consumer, as Shanghai gold futures
fetched premiums of more than $10 an ounce to cash gold, making
it cheaper to buy the metal from the overseas market.
A surge in physical buying in Asia and other parts of the
world lifted gold prices from April's low of $1,321.35 an ounce,
leading to a shortage of gold bars, coins and nuggets in Hong
Kong, Singapore and Tokyo.
Among other precious metals, silver edged down 0.5
percent to $23.96 an ounce. Platinum was up 0.5 percent
at $1,502.74 an ounce, and palladium climbed 0.6 percent
to $694.47 an ounce.
1:51 PM EDT LAST/ NET PCT LOW HIGH CURRENT
SETTLE CHNG CHNG VOL
US Gold JUN 1468.00 3.80 0.3 1463.80 1478.40 74,360
US Silver JUN 23.936 -0.058 -0.2 23.820 24.365 125
US Plat JUL 1507.70 6.50 0.4 1491.80 1509.00 3,629
US Pall JUN 697.10 3.80 0.5 690.15 697.50 1,216
Gold 1468.70 -1.50 -0.1 1465.43 1478.45
Silver 23.960 -0.120 -0.5 23.870 24.420
Platinum 1502.74 6.74 0.5 1493.50 1507.50
Palladium 694.47 3.97 0.6 692.25 694.76
TOTAL MARKET VOLUME 30-D ATM VOLATILITY
CURRENT 30D AVG 250D AVG CURRENT CHG
US Gold 80,937 231,154 177,671 19.29 -0.30
US Silver 21,140 78,477 55,014 28.43 -1.87
US Platinum 3,717 14,430 11,921 19.99 1.13
US Palladium 1,317 5,126 5,073
(Additional reporting by Lewa Pardomuan in Singapore; editing
by Jason Neely and John Wallace)
