PRECIOUS-Gold dips after Fed-fuelled leap, ETF hits record

                                
 TOKYO, March 19 (Reuters) - Gold fell 0.5 percent on Thursday
after leaping up from a six-week low on Wednesday, when the U.S.
Federal Reserve said it would buy up to $300 billion of
long-dated U.S. government debt. [ID:nN18522055]
                                
 FUNDAMENTALS
                                
 * Gold <XAU=> was trading at $935.40 per ounce at 0000 GMT,
down 0.5 percent from New York's notional close of $940.00 on
Wednesday.
                                
 On Wednesday, bullion had touched a six-week low of $882.90
an ounce as risk appetite diminished. But it shot up after the
Fed's move to as high as $945.95, the highest since March 2.
                                
 * The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the
SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, said its holdings rose to a record
1,084.33 tonnes as of March 18, up 15.28 tonnes or 1.4 percent
from the previous day. [GOL/SPDR]
                                
 * Zurich Cantonal Bank said on Wednesday the amount of metal
it holds to back its gold ETF <ZGLD.S> has risen 13.5 percent
since Feb. 5 to 4.138 million ounces. [ID:nLI943665], see also
[ID:nLC443406]
                                
 * Colombia expects to give AngloGold Ashanti <ANGJ.J>, the
world's No.3 gold producer, an environmental permit for
exploration at the stalled La Colosa Project this month, Mining
Minister Hernan Martinez said on Wednesday. [ID:nN18366133], see
also [ID:nLI37683]
                                
 * Harmony Gold Mining Co <HARJ.J> said a worker was killed at
its central plant, which mills ore mined from three shafts in
South Africa's Free State province, and it had shut down a key
section of the operation. [ID:nLI101926]
                                
 * Exports of gold jewellery from Italy, Europe's top
manufacturer, fell 8.3 percent last year to 4.38 billion euros,
organisers of an upcoming jewellery trade fair in Arezzo said on
Wednesday. [ID:nLI967147]
                                
 MARKET NEWS
                                
 * The Nikkei average opened up 0.57 percent. [.T]
                                
 * The dollar extended its losses versus the euro and the yen
in early Asia on Thursday after plunging the previous day as the
Fed caught markets off guard by saying it would buy $300 billion
of long-dated Treasuries over the next six months to help boost
the economy. [USD/]
                                
 * U.S. stocks rallied on Wednesday as shares of financial
companies and home builders rose as investors bet that the Fed's
move would kick-start lending. The Fed's move drove the yield on
the 10-year U.S. Treasury note to its biggest one-day drop since
the 1987 stock market crash and 30-year mortgage rates fell to
around their lowest levels on record. [.N]
                                
 * U.S. crude oil futures rose to nearly $50 a barrel in
post-settlement trading late Wednesday, rising as the value of
the U.S. dollar fell after the Fed's policy move. [O/R]
                                
 DATA EVENTS
                                
 - ECB government and general council meeting
                                
 * The following data is expected on Wednesday: <ECON>
                                
 - Bank of Japan monthly report for March (0500 GMT)
                                
 - Weekly U.S. jobless claims (1230 GMT)
                                
 RELATED NEWS
> Gold, copper turn up after hours on U.S. Fed plan [COM/WRAP]
> Barrick's Munk sees gold much higher in 2009 [ID:nLI92367]
> Gold scrap sales hold prices down,but not forever[ID:nHL504922]
> Crisis having impact on c.bank reserve management[ID:nLI336685]
> Faith in commodities grows - fund managers' survey[ID:nLI77571]
> *TOP NEWS* Central Banks [ID:nTOPNOW1]
 PRICES as of 0003 GMT
 Metal         Last      Change  Pct chg  Day ago pct  MA 30  RSI
 Spot gold     $936.00   -$4.00  -0.43%    +4.35%    $860.10  56
 Spot silver    $12.85   -$0.03  -0.23%    +7.26%     $11.29  45
 Spot plat    $1053.50   -$3.50  -0.33%   +11.01%    $948.98  52
 COMEX gold    $936.40   $48.20  +5.43%    +4.10%    $857.64  55
 Currencies
 Euro/dlr       $1.349   $0.035  +2.68%    +2.36%
 Dlr/yen         96.45     6.07  +6.72%    +8.47%
 (Reporting by Risa Maeda; Editing by Hugh Lawson)