* SPDR gold holdings fall to six-month low
* Asian shares fall, European markets splutter
* Gold to find support at $1,264, resistance at $1,284 (Updates prices)By Sethuraman N RApril 24 (Reuters) - Gold prices edged up from the previoussession's four-month low as a dollar rally relented and equitiessoftened on Wednesday.Spot gold was up 0.1 percent at $1,273 an ounce by1248 GMT after hitting its lowest since the end of last year at$1,265.90 in the previous session.U.S. gold futures also gained 0.1 percent, rising to$1,274.70 an ounce."The recent weakness in gold has had more to do with astrong U.S. dollar. The dollar rally we saw on Tuesday did notcontinue today and that's why gold looks constructive thismorning," said ABN AMRO analyst Georgette Boele.
"The crucial level for gold prices comes at the 200-daymoving average around $1,250. As long as that level holds, goldprices will be moving up."Gold prices have fallen about 6 percent from a peak inFebruary as the dollar firmed and global equities ticked up,with some of the risks of a global growth slowdown fading."Given the extraordinary lose monetary policy by theEuropean Central Bank, U.S. Federal Reserve and economicuncertainties, the fall in gold prices is unjustified," saidCommerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch.
"Speculators turning net short on gold prices shows theexaggerated market pessimism. It's just a matter of time beforegold starts to rally again."
The dollar index was holding steady after hitting a22-month peak on Tuesday, with U.S. data showing sales of newsingle-family homes rose to a near 1-1/2-year high in March.This eased concerns about a slowdown in the world's largesteconomy ahead of U.S. GDP figures on Friday.The United States is expected to beat analysts' estimates of2.1 percent growth, with the Atlanta Federal Reserve's GDPNowmodel projecting between 2.2 percent and 3.4 percent. Meanwhile, holdings of SPDR Gold Trust , the world'slargest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, fell 0.3 percent onTuesday to 749.63 tonnes, the lowest since Oct. 23. SPDR Goldholdings have dipped about 5 percent this year, reflectingbearish investor sentiment. Spot gold could hover above support at $1,264 an ounce orbounce towards resistance at $1,284, said Reuters technicalanalyst Wang Tao. In other metals, silver was up 0.4 percent at $14.87an ounce after touching its lowest since Dec. 26 at $14.71 inthe previous session. Platinum was up 0.4 percent at$887.59 while palladium gained 0.2 percent to $1,393.73.
(Reporting by Nallur Sethuraman in Bengaluru;Editing by Alexander Smith and David Goodman)