PRECIOUS-Gold mostly flat, stays near record highs

                                
 TOKYO, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Gold prices were mostly steady on
Wednesday, remaining in sight of record highs above $1,170
touched earlier this week on strong investment demand for a hedge
to inflation.
                                
 FUNDAMENTALS
                                
 * Spot gold <XAU=> was at $1,167.65 per ounce as of 0010 GMT,
down 0.1 percent from the notional close in New York. It hit an
all-time high of $1,173.50 on Monday.
                                
 * U.S. gold futures for December delivery <GCZ9> inched up
0.2 percent to $1,167.70 per ounce, climbing from settlement on
the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures
hit a record high of $1,174.00 on Monday.
                                
 * The world's largest silver-backed exchange-traded fund, the
iShares Silver Trust <SLV>, said its silver holdings rose 135.98
tonnes, or 1.5 percent, from the previous business day to a
record 9,252.02 tonnes as of Nov. 24.
                                
 * The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR
Gold Trust <GLD>, said its holdings stood at 1,122.371 tonnes as
of Nov. 24, up 0.914 tonnes, or 0.08 percent, from the previous
business day. [GOL/SPDR]
                                
 MARKET NEWS
                                
 * U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday on lacklustre economic data in
a session marked by low volume and choppy trading, but losses
eased after the Federal Reserve raised its expectations for
growth in 2010. [.N]
                                
 * The dollar fell to a six-week low against the yen on
Tuesday after a mixed bag of U.S. data kept worries about an
economic recovery alive, enhancing the appeal of the Japanese
currency. [USD/]
                                
 * Oil prices fell 2 percent on Tuesday after data showed the
U.S. economy grew at a slower-than-expected pace last quarter and
ahead of weekly U.S. inventory data, which is expected to show
that crude stocks rose. [O/R]
                                
 DATA EVENTS
                                
 * The following data is expected on Wednesday: <ECON>
                                
 - Germany December GfK index                (0700 GMT)
                                
 - UK third-quarter gross domestic product   (0930 GMT)
                                
 - Weekly U.S. mortgage market index         (1200 GMT)
                                
 - U.S. personal income spending for October (1330 GMT)
                                
 - U.S. durable goods for October            (1330 GMT)
                                
 - Weekly U.S. jobless claims                (1330 GMT)
                                
 - U.S. new home sales for October           (1500 GMT)
                                
 - U.S. ECRI weekly                          (1530 GMT)
                                
 RELATED NEWS
 >Gold turns higher on strong investor sentiment           [GOL/]
 >COMMODITIES-Down after softer US GDP outlook         [COM/WRAP]
 >Aware of risks, Fed sees firmer US growth       [ID:nN24313828]
 >US Q3 econ growth revised down, house prices up [ID:nN24296971]
                                
 PRICES
                                
 Precious metals prices at 0005 GMT
 Metal         Last      Change  Pct chg  Day ago pct  MA 30
 Spot gold    $1168.65   -$0.25  -0.02%   +30.28%    $860.10
 Spot silver    $18.54    $0.05  +0.27%   +54.76%     $11.29
 Spot plat    $1446.00    $1.50  +0.10%    -0.72%   $1377.25
 TOCOM gold      3,335       -4  -0.12%    +2.02%      3,177
 TOCOM plat      4,152       11  +0.27%    +1.00%      3,984
 Currencies
 Euro/dlr       $1.496   $0.000  +0.02%    -0.01%
 Dlr/yen         88.59     0.06  +0.07%    -0.40%
 (Reporting by Miho Yoshikawa)
 ((miho.yoshikawa@thomsonreuters.com; +81-3 6441 1854; Reuters
Messaging: miho.yoshikawa.reuters.com@reuter s.net))
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