PRECIOUS-Gold rises in thin trade; equities weigh

                                
 SINGAPORE, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Gold firmed in thin trade on
Tuesday, with jewellers expected to snap up the metal on dips
but a rise in the Nikkei could also lure some investors into
equities.
                                
 FUNDAMENTALS
                                
 * Spot gold <XAU=> added 75 cents to $1,182.00 by 0029 GMT
after rising to a 1-week high around $1,190 on Monday, partly
driven by physical buying in Asia. Gold was well below a
lifetime high of $1,264.90 struck in June.
                                
 * U.S. gold futures for December delivery <GCZ0> hardly
moved at $1,185 an ounce.
                                
 * The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund,
SPDR Gold Trust <GLD.P>, said its holdings were unchanged at
1,282.279 tonnes. The holdings hit a record at 1,320.436 tonnes
on June 29. [GOL/SPDR]
                                
 * The IMF sold 17.7 tonnes of gold in June under its gold
sales program, bringing to 71.4 tonnes the amount of bullion it
has sold on the open market since March, an IMF spokesman said
on Monday. [ID:nN02168907]
                                
 MARKET NEWS
                                
 * Japan's Nikkei average climbed 1.7 percent on Tuesday
after strong European bank results and better-than-expected
U.S. data boosted optimism about economic recovery and sent
U.S. stocks to a 10-week closing high. [.T]
                                
 * The dollar hit a three-month low on Monday against a
basket of currencies on fears growth in Europe and Asia will
outpace that of the United States, while the euro soared after
hitting a key technical level. [USD/]
                                
 DATA EVENTS
                                
 The following economic data is expected on Tuesday
                                
- Australia June retail sales                   (0130 GMT) 
  - Australia June building approvals             (0130 GMT)  
 - Australia central bank interest rate decision (0430 GMT)   
- Eurozone June producer price index            (0900 GMT)    -
U.S. June personal income/spending            (1230 GMT)    -
U.S. June factory orders                      (1400 GMT)    -
U.S. June pending home sales                  (1400 GMT)    -
U.S. July auto sales                          (N/A)    
                                
- U.K. July consumer confidence survey          (2201 GMT) 
                                
RELATED NEWS > U.S. manufacturing slows in July for 3rd
month   [nN02197601] > Bernanke says economy still short of
full recovery[nN02276865] > Output grows in U.S., Euro zone;
China slows      [nSGE67100T] > South Korea FX reserves in July
hit record high   [nTOE671084] > China new loans estimated at
$103bln in July-paper[nTOE67108R] > Obama says U.S. economy has
to grow faster        [nN02257225] > Europe car sales drop in
July as govt aid phases o[nLDE66S26Z] > China sees need to
expand yuan trade range -paper [nTOE67108T] > IMF urges Russia
to raise rates, cut spending     [nN02100432]    
 Precious metals prices at 0029 GMT
 Metal             Last    Change  Pct chg  YTD pct chg
Turnover
 Spot Gold        1182.00    0.75   +0.06      7.88
 Spot Silver        18.36    0.02   +0.11      9.09
 Spot Platinum    1596.75    3.50   +0.22      8.84
 Spot Palladium    509.25   -0.45   -0.09     25.59
 TOCOM Gold       3299.00   -6.00   -0.18      1.23       
15229
 TOCOM Platinum   4488.00   40.00   +0.90      2.44        
5565
 TOCOM Silver       51.80    0.60   +1.17      0.19         
195
 TOCOM Palladium  1420.00   29.00   +2.08     21.89         
195
 Euro/Dollar       1.3180
 Dollar/Yen         86.50
 TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
 (Reporting by Lewa Pardomuan; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)