TOKYO, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Gold prices steadied above $1,095
per ounce on Monday, with investors keeping an eye on the
currency market for a direction, while market holidays in China
and in the United States are expected to slow activity.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold <XAU=> edged up 0.2 percent to $1,095.05 an ounce
as of 0000 GMT, compared with New York's notional close of
$1,092.40.
* On Thursday, spot gold rose to a session high of $1,097.75
an ounce, the highest since Feb. 4, as investors turned to the
metal as a hedge against currency volatility after news that
European governments agreed in principle to support heavily
indebted Greece.
* But a rise in the dollar has since capped further gains in
the precious metal.
* U.S. gold futures for April delivery <GCJ0> were up 0.6
percent at $,096.70 an ounce.
* U.S. markets are closed on Monday for Presidents Day.
[]
* Chinese markets are closed on Monday for the Chinese New
Year holiday.
* The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR
Gold Trust <GLD>, said its holdings held steady at 1,106.378
tonnes on Friday. []
* The world's largest silver-backed exchange-traded fund,
iShares Silver Trust <SLV>, said its bullion holdings rose 48.84
tonnes or 0.5 percent from the previous business day to 9,446.40
tonnes as of Feb 12. []
MARKET NEWS
* The euro hovered near 9-month lows on the dollar on Monday,
as doubts intensified about whether policymakers in the eurozone
will help debt-laden Greece, prompting investors to add to long
positions in the greenback. []
* Euro zone finance ministers will pile up pressure on Greece
on Monday to fully implement planned budget deficit cuts so that
the euro area would never have to deliver on its pledge last week
of support for Athens. []
* The euro hit multi-month lows versus the dollar on Friday
due to questions about a rescue deal for Greece, while China's
surprise monetary tightening hit risk appetite.
* The Dow and S&P 500 dipped on Friday as China's move to
curb bank lending and U.S. and European economic data raised
fears the global recovery might be in jeopardy. []
* Noncommercial net long U.S. gold futures positions fell to
181,519 contracts in the week ended Feb. 9 from 210,169 contracts
a week earlier, according to the weekly Commitments of Traders
report published by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. It
was the fourth straight week of declines. []
* On Monday, the Osaka Securities Exchange lists an
exchange-traded fund (ETF) tracking gold futures contracts and
another ETF tracking platinum futures contracts, both listed on
the Tokyo Commodity Exchange. []
DATA EVENTS
* The following data is expected on Monday: <ECON>
- Japan Q4 GDP (2350 GMT)
- Japan revised industrial output (0430 GMT)
- Swiss Jan producer prices (0815 GMT)
- Euro group meeting in Brussels (N/A)
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PRICES
Precious metals prices at 0004 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg 2 day chg MA 30 RSI
Spot gold $1095.80 $3.40 +0.31% -5.36% $1106.70 54
Spot silver $15.55 $0.07 +0.45% -14.47% $17.02 41
Spot plat $1513.00 $0.50 +0.03% -5.02% $1551.62 47
TOCOM gold 3,187 -251 -7.30% -6.10% 3,294 54
TOCOM plat 4,376 -371 -7.82% -6.40% 4,303 48
Currencies
Euro/dlr $1.363 -$0.087 -5.98% -6.10%
Dlr/yen 90.12 -0.83 -0.91% -2.13%
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Reporting by Risa Maeda); Editing by Michael Watson)
