* Dollar rebounds vs euro after hitting 3-week low
* SPDR Gold Trust holdings highest since Aug 2014
* Physical gold demand slows in top consumer China
(Updates prices, adds comment)
By Clara Denina
LONDON, March 11 (Reuters) - Gold edged lower on Friday as
the dollar rebounded, but prices remained within reach of a
13-month high touched in early trade after the European Central
Bank's announcement of additional easing.
ECB President Mario Draghi rolled out measures on Thursday
including increased asset buying and a deeper cut to deposit
rates, but signalled there would be no further rate cuts.
Spot gold XAU= rose as far as $1,282.51 an ounce, its
strongest since Feb. 3, 2015, before falling 0.3 percent to
$1,267.80 by 1452 GMT, as the dollar rebounded from a three-week
low versus the euro and European equities fell.
U.S. gold for April delivery GCcv1 also eased 0.3 percent
to $1,268.30 an ounce, after peaking at $1,287.80.
Bullion had climbed 1.5 percent on Thursday, its biggest
single-day gain in a week, as the dollar fell, and was on course
for a second weekly rise.
Gold has rallied about 20 percent this year, regaining its
role as a shelter for risk-averse investors, in the face of
tumbling equities and fears of a global economic slowdown.
"Low or negative real rates and high equity risk premium can
be very positive for gold," Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) commodity analyst
Michael Hsueh said.
The relatively weak dollar and a repricing of expectations
for U.S. interest rate rises have also helped the metal to
rebound this year.
The next main market focus is the U.S. Federal Reserve's
policy meeting on March 15-16. The Fed lifted rates for the
first time in nearly a decade in December.
"The ratcheting back of policy expectations in the U.S.,
which has pushed us probably towards the lower end of the real
rates spectrum, coupled with weakness in equities, tends to have
a positive influence for gold," Hsueh said.
If the Fed leaves rates unchanged next week, gold could
suffer from the resurgence of some short-term risk appetite, ETF
Securities analyst Martin Arnold said.
"In the longer term, gold will probably stay above $1,200,
around the $1,250 area, while $1,300 represents a strong
resistance level," Arnold added.
Supporting bullion, holdings of SPDR Gold Trust GLD , the
world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, rose to 25.68
million ounces on Thursday, the highest since August 2014.
HLDSPDRGT=XAU
Physical gold demand slowed in top consumer China this week,
while a strike by jewellers protesting against the imposition of
a tax curbed demand in No. 2 market India. GOL/AS
Spot silver XAG= rose 0.2 percent to $15.63 an ounce,
platinum XPT= was up 0.2 percent at $977.60 and palladium
XPD= gained 1.3 percent to $578.50.