PRECIOUS-Gold gains on fresh virus wave fears, gloomy Fed outlook

* Gold up about 2.7% so far this week
* SPDR Gold Trust Holdings hit over 7-year high
* U.S. stock indexes rebound
* Platinum set for biggest weekly fall since end-March

(Updates prices)
By Asha Sistla
June 12 (Reuters) - Gold prices gained on Friday as
investors bought the safe-haven metal as fears of a fresh wave
of coronavirus cases added to the gloomy economic outlook from
the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Spot gold XAU= rose 0.2% to $1,730.57 per ounce by 2:10
p.m. ET (1810 GMT) and has jumped about 2.7% so far this week,
heading for its biggest gain since the week of April 10.
U.S. gold futures GCv1 settled down 0.1% at $1,737.30.
"Despite the tentative stock market rebound this morning,
we're seeing gold prices climb because there's still steady
safe-haven demand by institutional traders," said Edward Moya,
senior market analyst at broker OANDA.
A recent spike in COVID-19 cases in about a dozen U.S.
states partially reflects increased testing, but many of those
states are also seeing rising hospitalizations. "This is not a second wave. This is just the virus working
its way throughout the country and you're going to see that
derail a lot of the reopening plans across the country, which
means slower economic activity - that should support gold
prices," Moya added.
Major U.S. stock indexes bounced back from the previous
session's rout on Thursday arising from Fed expectations of a
long road to economic recovery that cast a shadow over investor
bets on a quick economic rebound. .N
Reflecting investor appetite, holdings of the world's
largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust GLD ,
rose 0.5% to 1,135.05 tonnes on Thursday, its highest in over
seven years. GOL/ETF
Elsewhere, palladium XPD= rose 0.4% to $1,929.12 per
ounce, while silver XAG= declined 1.5% to $17.43.
Platinum XPT= eased 0.4% to $808.18 an ounce and was set
for its biggest weekly fall since end-March.