* Spot gold down sixth session in a row     * Gold has dropped nearly 18 pct this year     * Coming Up: U.S. weekly jobless claims at 1230 GMT   (Recasts, updates prices)     By A. Ananthalakshmi     SINGAPORE, May 16 (Reuters) - Gold dropped to its weakest level in almost a month on Thursday, hurt by a firmer dollar and as holdings in exchange-traded funds fell to the lowest in over four years, potentially stretching bullion's losing streak to a sixth day.     If gold ends lower on the day, it would be its longest losing streak since March 2009. The drops have already helped to fuel another scramble for bullion that has push Asian premiums for physical gold to record highs.  
  ID:nL3N0DX103
       Spot gold  
  XAU=
   fell to as low as $1,374.99 an ounce, its cheapest since April 18. By 0748 GMT, it was down 1 percent at $1,378.36.     Gold is less than $60 away from two-year lows hit in mid-April. Prices have fallen nearly 18 percent this year and are well below a record top near $1,920 struck in September 2011.     "The recent stronger profile of the U.S. dollar has undermined some of the financial investments side of buying gold," said Tim Riddell, head of ANZ Global Markets Research, Asia. A stronger greenback makes dollar-denominated commodities more expensive for holders of other currencies.  
  ID:nL3N0DX041
       Financial markets are also rife with speculation that the U.S. Federal Reserve may begin winding down its aggressive economic stimulus, undermining the argument for holding gold as a hedge against potential inflation.     Buying in China, the world's No. 2 consumer after India, has helped limit price losses.     China bought a large amount of gold on Thursday morning after prices fell by more than $20 overnight, said Peter Tse, director at ScotiaMocatta in Hong Kong.     Premiums for gold bars rallied to all-time highs in Hong Kong - China's main source for gold imports - after bullion's steepest drop since its April sell-off fuelled another round of buying, according to dealers.      Gold bars in Hong Kong fetched premiums of up to $5 an ounce over spot London prices, up from $3 an ounce last week.  
  GOLD/ASIA1
        Gold investment nearly halved in the first quarter as a brighter view of the U.S. economy prompted investors in the West to favour other assets like stocks over bullion, the World Gold Council said on Thursday.  
  ID:nL6N0DW40G
       A drop in ETF holdings indicates that investors are shifting to equities from gold. Holdings in SPDR Gold Trust  
  GLD
  , the world's largest gold-backed ETF, fell 0.43 percent to 1047.14 tonnes on Wednesday, the lowest since March 2009.  
  GOL/ETF
       U.S. gold  
  GCcv1
   for June delivery stood at $1,377.20 an ounce, down 1.4 percent.            Precious metals prices 0748 GMT   Metal             Last    Change  Pct chg  YTD pct chg    Volume   Spot Gold        1378.36  -13.93   -1.00    -17.69   Spot Silver        22.33   -0.24   -1.06    -26.25   Spot Platinum    1471.49  -14.51   -0.98     -4.14   Spot Palladium    716.47   -8.03   -1.11      3.54   COMEX GOLD JUN3  1377.20  -19.00   -1.36    -17.82        47656   COMEX SILVER JUL3  22.33   -0.33   -1.45    -26.13         9811   Euro/Dollar       1.2861   Dollar/Yen        102.47     COMEX gold and silver contracts show the most active months        (Editing by Lewa Pardomuan and Tom Hogue)  ((ananthalakshmi.as@thomsonreuters.com)(+65 6870 3726)(Reuters Messaging: ananthalakshmi.as.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))  
 ((Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for:     * 3000 Xtra     :  visit  
  http://topnews.session.rservices.com
      * BridgeStation :  view story .134     * Reuters Plus  : from your WebDSS screen    For more information on Top News, visit  
  http://topnews.reuters.com
 ))    Reuters Terminal users can see related news and prices by double clicking on the codes in brackets:  - All precious metals headlines  
  GOL
    - Precious metals market reports  
  GOL/
    - Daily fixing headlines  
  GOL/FIX
    - Indian gold reports  
  GOL/IN
    - European gold prices  
  GOLD/EU1
   
  GOLD/EU2
   
  0#PREC
    - London interbank gold forward rates  
  GOFO
    
  0#GOFO=
    - London silver forwards  
  SIFO
   
  SIFO=
    - Gold lease rates  
  LGLR
   
  0#LGLR=
    - London Bullion Market Association  
  LBMA01
    - New York Comex gold  
  0#GC:
   and silver  
  0#SI:
    - New York platinum  
  0#PL:
   and palladium  
  0#PA:
    - Asian gold prices  
  GOLD/ASIA1
   
  0#PREC
    - Australian precious metals prices  
  0#AUPREC=
    - Shanghai Gold Exchange prices  
  SGE/MENU
    - Hong Kong gold exchange prices  
  HKGG
    - Indian bullion prices  
  INBULL
   
  0#PREC-IN
    - Japanese producer prices  
  JP/PROD1
    For Related News and other topics, double click on one of these codes:  SPEED GUIDES   
  COMMOD
               
  ENERGY
     
  PRECIOUS/1
           
  PRECIOUS/2
     
  REUTERS
  ))
  Keywords: MARKETS PRECIOUS/