By Miho Yoshikawa TOKYO (Reuters) - Gold steadied above $950 per ounce on Tuesday but was off the previous day's 6-½ week high as caution returned after prices neared $960. Gold has mostly moved in a range of $945-$960 per ounce for the past week with strong technical resistance towards the $960 level, which was last touched on June 11. Gains have also been capped by weak physical demand. High prices combined with the fact that it is a slow season for gold demand have forced jewellers in India, the world's largest consumer of the metal, to step back to the sidelines. Gold was $955.20 an ounce at 0619 GMT, up 0.3 percent from the notional close in New York of $952.65. It rose to a 6-1/2-week high of $958.70 on Monday. U.S. gold futures for August delivery were $955.50 an ounce, up 0.2 percent. Kazuhiko Saito, chief analyst at Tokyo's Fujitomi Co Ltd, said market activity would be slow as the euro's level versus the dollar, a key reason behind Monday's rally, had not changed significantly from the previous day. The euro held firm against the dollar on Tuesday after hitting its highest in eight weeks the previous day, when news of a jump in U.S. new-home sales encouraged investors to seek riskier assets. Saito also said investors were shifting their funds to the stock market, a fact underscored by the decline in holdings of exchange-traded funds. "You can see that gold ETFs have been falling for a while now," Saito said. The world's largest gold-backed ETF, the SPDR Gold Trust, said holdings stood at 1,086.61 tonnes as of July 27, unchanged since July 22. They have fallen about 4.2 percent since hitting a record of 1,134.03 tonnes on June 1. Saito added that inflation fears, which often benefit gold as they spurs buying among investors seeking a hedge, have receded at least for now. "Inflation is not being seen as a factor in the current market," he said. In industry news, Harmony Gold said it had stoped production at a mine shaft in Mpumalanga, South Africa, after a fatal accident there on Friday. South Africa's Chamber of Mines said on Monday it saw a good possibility of reaching a wage deal with workers in the gold and coal mining sectors, putting an end to week-long talks and strike threats. Spot platinum, which rose to a near six-week high on Monday and helped buoy gold, edged down on Tuesday. The metal, used in auto catalysts, was trading at $1,213 per ounce, down 0.2 percent from New York. The world's biggest platinum producer Anglo Platinum said its first-half production of the refined metal rose 6 percent from a year before and reiterated its target of 2.4 million ounces for the full year. | 
