PRECIOUS-Gold slips below $900 on firm dlr, ETF unchanged

                                
 SINGAPORE, May 6 (Reuters) - Gold dipped to trade below
$900 an ounce on Wednesday, having risen to its strongest in a
week the previous day, as the dollar bounced against the euro,
with weaker oil prices also adding to the selling pressure.
                                
 FUNDAMENTALS
                                
 * Spot gold <XAU=> was quoted at $896.80 an ounce, down
$6.40 from New York's notional close. Gold rallied to $914.45
on Tuesday, its highest since April 27, before slipping as the
dollar changed course and rose against the euro.
                                
 * The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the
SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, said holdings stayed at 1,104.45 tonnes
as of May 5 unchanged since April 23. (GOL/SPDR]
                                
 * Platinum <XPT=> was at $1,127.00 an ounce, up $1.50 from
New York's notional close.
                                
 * Japanese markets are closed for Golden Week holidays
until Wednesday.
                                
 * U.S. gold futures for June delivery <GCM9> fell $5.9 an
ounce to $897.9 on on the COMEX division of the New York
Mercantile Exchange.
                                
 * Gold could benefit later this week from the results of
stress tests on U.S. banks, which are expected to be released
on Thursday. Several of the largest U.S. banks could be
instructed by regulators to raise more capital. [ID:nN04553413]
                                
 * Turkey said its gold imports declined in April to 25.698
kg, against 40 kg in March. Year-on-year, they were down 97.5
percent from 1,030 kg. [ID:nL5663459]
                                
 MARKET NEWS
                                
 * The euro <EUR=> lapsed to $1.3302 from a one-month
$1.3437 peak, and weaker than $1.3324 late in New York on
Tuesday. [USD/]
                                
 * Oil fell on Tuesday after hitting a 2009 high as bulging
oil inventories and falling energy demand outweighed fragile
hopes for an economic recovery. [O/R]
                                
 * India's gold prices were slightly down on Tuesday,
softened by a stronger rupee against the dollar, but demand
slowed after the previous few days' surge and as traders
finished replenishing stocks. [GOL/IN]
                                
 * U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday as cautious investors fretted
about impending bank stress test results and energy shares
succumbed to the pressure of lower oil prices. [.N]
                                
 DATA EVENTS
                                
 * Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee meeting
                                
 * Australian Trade Balance for March at 0130 GMT
                                
 * Australian Retail Sales for March at 0130 GMT
                                
 * Euro Zone Services PMI for April at 0758 GMT
                                
 * UK Services PMI for April at 0828 GMT
                                
 * Euro Zone Retail Sales for March at 0900 GMT
                                
 * Weekly U.S. Mortgage Market Index at 1100 GMT
                                
 * ADP U.S. Employment Report for April at 1215 GMT
                                
 * The following data is expected on Wednesday: <ECON>
                                
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  PRICES
  Precious metals prices at 0024 GMT
 Metal         Last      Change  Pct chg  Day ago pct  MA 30
RSI  Spot gold     $896.80   -$6.40  -0.71%    -0.02%   $860.10
  57
 Spot silver    $13.34    $0.00  +0.00%   +11.35%     $11.29 
67
 Spot plat    $1127.00    $1.50  +0.13%    +0.90%   $1152.60 
47
 COMEX gold    $897.90   -$5.90  -0.65%    -0.48%    $899.46 
50
 Currencies                                               
Euro/dlr       $1.330   $0.006  +0.45%    +0.32%
 Dlr/yen         98.72     1.95  +2.02%    +1.62%
  (Reporting by Lewa Pardomuan; Editing by Valerie Lee)