SINGAPORE, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Gold fell further on Wednesday as speculators
booked profits from gains driven by deadly unrest in Libya, but strong oil
prices could offer support.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold fell $3.50 an ounce to $1,395.70 an ounce by 0052 GMT. It
had risen to a 7-week high around $1,410 on Tuesday before slipping, partly due
to declines in equities that prompted investors to sell gold to cover losses.
* A defiant Muammar Gaddafi said he was ready to die "a martyr" in Libya,
vowing to crush a growing revolt which has seen eastern regions break free of
his 41-year rule and brought deadly unrest to the capital.
* The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the SPDR Gold Trust
, said holdings dropped to 1,218.243 tonnes by Feb. 22, their lowest in
nine months, from 1,223.098 tonnes by Feb. 20.
* U.S. gold futures for April fell $4.3 to $1,396.8 an ounce.
MARKET NEWS
* Japan's Nikkei average slipped further on Wednesday after tumbling nearly
2 percent the day before as investors pull out of riskier assets, with turmoil
in Libya driving crude oil prices to 30-month highs and sparking worry of slower
global growth.
* The Swiss franc and yen held onto gains early in Asia on Wednesday after
the revolt in Libya drove crude oil prices to 30-month highs, sparking worries
about slower global growth.
* U.S. crude futures eased slightly on Wednesday after hitting their highest
in almost 2-1/2 years as the crisis in Libya reduced production there and
exacerbated worries about supply.
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DATA EVENTS (GMT)
0300 Japan PAJ weekly oil inventory data Feb 19 1245 U.S.
ICSC chain stores yy Weekly 1500 U.S. Exist. home sales % chg
Jan 1500 U.S. Existing home sales Jan
Precious metals prices 0052 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover
Spot Gold 1395.70 -3.50 -0.25 -1.67
Spot Silver 32.87 -0.17 -0.51 6.51
Spot Platinum 1787.75 -0.75 -0.04 1.15
Spot Palladium 804.72 2.49 +0.31 0.65
TOCOM Gold 3728.00 -29.00 -0.77 -0.03 33500
TOCOM Platinum 4820.00 -141.00 -2.84 2.64 16369
TOCOM Silver 86.30 -1.90 -2.15 6.54 2160
TOCOM Palladium 2155.00 -128.00 -5.61 2.77 496
Euro/Dollar 1.3688
Dollar/Yen 82.86
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Reporting by Lewa Pardomuan; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
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