PRECIOUS-Gold steady as US data, equities eyed, ETF unchanged

                                
 TOKYO, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Gold was steady on Tuesday as
investors eyed U.S. economic data due this week for clues to the
strength of the world's largest economy while looking at equities
to gauge investor risk appetite.
                                
 FUNDAMENTALS
                                
 * Spot gold <XAU=> was steady at $1,237.55 an ounce, compared
to $1,236.66 per ounce late in New York on Monday.
                                
 * U.S. gold futures for December delivery <GCZ0> were also
little changed at $1,239.50 per ounce, compared to $1,239.20 an
ounce on Monday.
                                
 * Gold rose on Monday, starting its fifth straight week in
positive territory.
                                
 * Later on Tuesday the Federal Reserve will release minutes
of its Aug. 10 meeting, offering investors further insight into
the U.S. central bank's controversial decision to buy more
longer-term Treasury securities in the face of a weakening
economy. [ID:nN30174442]
                                
 * The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the
SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, said its holdings were unchanged at
1,298.556 tonnes as of Aug. 30. The holdings hit a record at
1,320.436 tonnes on June 29. [GOL/SPDR]
                                
 MARKET NEWS
                                
 * U.S. stocks fell in the year's lightest volume on Monday as
worries about the pace of economic recovery overshadowed data
showing a rise in consumer spending and incomes. [.N]
                                
 * The yen was broadly firmer in Asia on Tuesday after the
Bank of Japan's decision the previous day to expand a fund supply
programme disappointed investors who had looked for more
aggressive measures to curb the yen's strength. [USD/]
                                
 * Oil prices <CLc1> extended losses to fall closer to $74 a
barrel on Tuesday, after slipping the previous day when investor
unease about a stalled economic recovery weighed on equities and
energy markets and a slightly stronger dollar helped oil break a
string of three days of gains. [O/R]
                                
 DATA EVENTS
                                
 * The following data is expected on Tuesday: <ECON>
                                
 - 2315 GMT Japan Manufacturing PMI Aug <JPRPMI=ECI>
                                
 - 2350 GMT Japan Industrial output prelim Jul <JPIP1=ECI>
                                
 - 0800 GMT Germany Unemployment rate sa Aug <DEUNR=ECI>
                                
 - 0900 GMT EZ Inflation, flash yy Aug <EUHICF=ECI>
                                
 - 1200 GMT Brazil Industrial Output y/y Jul <BRIOY=ECI>
                                
 - 1300 GMT U.S. CaseShiller 20 mm NSA Jun <USSHP=ECI>
                                
 - 1345 GMT U.S. Chicago PMI Aug <USCPMI=ECI>
                                
 - 1400 GMT U.S. Consumer confidence Aug <USCONC=ECI>
                                
 - 2030 GMT U.S. API weekly crude, distillate stocks Aug 27
                                
 RELATED NEWS
 > Gold rises as equities slip; economic data eyed [GOL/]
 > Wheat jumps, economy worries hit other markets [COM/WRAP]
 > US consumer spending gain strongest in 4 mths [ID:nN30169545]
 > Obama considering new ways to boost economy [ID:nN30177410]
                                
 PRICES
                                
 Precious metals prices at 2334 GMT
 Metal         Last      Change  Pct chg   2 Day chg   MA 30  RSI
 Spot gold    $1235.80   -$0.86  -0.07%   +37.77%    $860.10   68
 Spot silver    $19.02    $0.06  +0.32%   +58.76%     $11.29   71
 Spot plat    $1526.00    $0.80  +0.05%    -0.23%   $1538.53   47
 COMEX gold   $1236.80    $1.20  +0.10%    +0.21%   $1205.16   71
 TOCOM gold      3,381       -4  -0.12%    -0.09%      3,342   56
 TOCOM plat      4,208      -16  -0.38%    +0.45%      4,277   47
 Currencies
 Euro/dlr       $1.266   $0.000  -0.03%    -0.82%
 Dlr/yen         84.57    -0.03  -0.04%    -0.93%
 TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
 (Reporting by Chikako Mogi; Editing by Michael Watson)