* Gold barely moves ahead of Fed's rate decision
* Nikkei hits 5-week high, oil falls towards $48
* Fed to conclude two-day meeeting
* ETF at record above 1,000 tonnes
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, March 18 (Reuters) - Gold steadied above $910 an
ounce on Wednesday as investors waited for more clues on the
state of the U.S. economy, but a rally in the stock market also
prompted investors to shift some of their money back to shares.
The U.S. Federal Reserve, which ends its two-day meeting on
Wednesday, is expected to renew a vow to do whatever it can to
pull the economy out of a painful recession. Investors want to
know if the central bank will announce plans to buy long-dated
Treasuries to keep long-term rates low. []
"We want to see if the economy is improving or not. If it
is improving, then there will be some pressure on gold because
it's no longer seen as safe haven," said Ronald Leung, director
of Lee Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong.
Gold <XAU=> was trading at $914.10 an ounce, barely hanged
from New York's notional close on Tuesday, when it slipped 0.7
percent after a surprise surge in U.S. housing starts pushed up
U.S. stocks, giving investors reason to raise their tolerance
of risk.
Gold hit an intraday low of $910.60 on earlier Wednesday as
the Nikkei hit a five-week high to track a rally on Wall
Street, with bank shares boosted by moves by the Bank of Japan
to bolster banks' capital. []
Bullion has dropped 9 percent since hitting an 11-month
high above $1,000 an ounce in February after investors booked
profits and sales of scraps intensified as holders sold back
jewellery and coins for cash. Gold struck record at $1,030.80
last March.
But record holdings on the exchange-traded funds suggested
long-term outlook for the metal remained bright despite
persistent selling at higher levels, said dealers.
Holdings on the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded
fund, SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, were unchanged at 1,069.05 tonnes
as of March 17, a record amount first marked the previous day.
[]
"The consumer fabrication demand for gold remains weak. I
suspect that's a negative (factor) for gold. So for gold to
rise, it really needs quite solid investment inflows into it,"
said David Moore, commodities strategist at Commonwealth Bank
of Australia in Sydney.
"I think it's certainly possible for gold to go back to
$1,000. The conditions that pushed the gold price high can
occasionally reoccur. I think the international economic
enviroment is still troubled."
In other markets, currencies traded in tight ranges as
investors awaited the outcome of a Bank of Japan policy meeting
and a Federal Open Market Committee meeting later in the day.
The euro held near a recent one-month high on the dollar.
[]
Oil <CLc1> fell towards $48 a barrel on Wednesday,
surrendering some of the previous day's gains, as industry data
late on Tuesday showed U.S. crude inventories rose much more
than expected last week. []
PRICES
Last Change Pct chg Day ago Turnover
pct Spot Gold
914.10 -0.10 -0.01 3.86 Spot Silver 12.71
0.01 +0.08 12.28 Spot Platinum 1052.00 8.50
+0.81 12.88 Spot Palladium 193.00 1.50 +0.78
4.61 TOCOM Gold 2906.00 -24.00 -0.82 12.94
15035 TOCOM Platinum 3338.00 -5.00 -0.15 25.87
2652 TOCOM Silver 399.10 -6.30 -1.55 24.99
193 TOCOM Palladium 626.00 -7.00 -1.11 13.82
57 Euro/Dollar 1.3032 Dollar/Yen 98.48
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Additional reporting by Risa Maeda in Tokyo)
(Editing by Valerie Lee)
