PRECIOUS-Gold inches down a day after topping $1,150/oz

                                
 TOKYO, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Gold edged down on Thursday, taking
a breather after topping $1,150 per ounce the previous day to a
new record on further weakness in the dollar and inflation fears
fuelled by stronger-than-expected U.S. consumer prices.
                                
 FUNDAMENTALS
                                
 * Spot gold <XAU=> was at $1,142.50 per ounce at 0017 GMT,
down 0.2 percent from New York's notional close of $1,144.70. On
Wednesday it reached an all-time high of $1,152.75.
                                
 * U.S. gold futures for December delivery <GCZ9> were steady
at $1,142.70 an ounce after closing on Wednesday at $1,141.20, up
$1.80. The contract hit a record high of $1,153.40 on Wednesday.
                                
 * Gold's strength lifted other precious metals on Wednesday,
with spot silver <XAG=> hitting a 16-month high of $18.83 an
ounce, spot platinum <XPT=> reaching $1,463.50, its highest since
September 2008, and spot palladium <XPD=> reaching a 15-month
high of $376.
                                
 * Underlining Wednesday's rally, holdings by the world's
largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>,
rose on Wednesday for the first time since Nov. 3.
                                
 * SPDR Gold said its holdings rose by 3.66 tonnes or 0.3
percent from the previous business day to 1,117.493 tonnes on
Wednesday. [GOL/SPDR]
                                
 * The world's largest silver-backed exchange-traded fund, the
iShares Silver Trust <SLV>, said its bullion holdings rose to a
record 9,021.31 tonnes on Wednesday, up 67.23 tonnes or 0.75
percent from the previous business day. [ID:nT258872]
                                
 MARKET NEWS
                                
 * U.S. share prices snapped three days of gains on Wednesday
following worrisome outlooks from two major software makers and
news of a surprising drop in home construction last month. [.N]
                                
 * The dollar slipped against the euro on Wednesday, a day
after notching up its biggest rise in three weeks, with fresh
data doing little to alter views that U.S. interest rates will
remain at record lows well into 2010. [USD/]
                                
 * Construction of new homes in the United States hit a
six-month low in October, providing more evidence of the
economy's sluggish recovery, while a surge in the cost of new and
used vehicles lifted consumer prices. [ID:nN1899353]
                                
 * Japan's Nikkei share average <.N225> was down 0.7 percent
in early trade on Thursday. [.T]
                                
 DATA EVENTS
                                
 * The following data is expected on Thursday: <ECON>
                                
 - Bank of Japan starts two-day policy meeting (N/A)
                                
 - ECB meeting, no interest rate announcement planned (N/A)
                                
 - Swiss trade for Oct (0715 GMT)
                                
 - OECD six-month economic outlook (0900 GMT)
                                
 - U.K. retail sales for Oct (0930 GMT)
                                
 - Weekly U.S. jobless claims (1330 GMT)
                                
 - U.S. leading indicators fo Oct (1500 GMT)
                                
 - Philadelphia Fed business activity index for Nov (1500 GMT)
                                
 - U.S. Treasury Secretary Geithner testifies (1500 GMT)
                                
 RELATED NEWS
 >Fund manager Paulson to start new gold fund-WSJ [ID:nN18500654]
 >Anoter gold peak in broad rally; grains end down     [COM/WRAP]
 >Ghana to double mining royalties                 [ID:nLI189405]
 >Russia to sell 30 tonnes of gold to c.bank       [ID:nLI200517]
 >SAfrica cbank added to euro, sterling reserves   [ID:nLI203274]
 >Chartists sense golden opportunity for bullion   [ID:nLH368719]
                                
 PRICES
                                
 Precious metals prices at 0013 GMT
 Metal         Last      Change  Pct chg  Day ago pct  MA 30  RSI
 Spot gold    $1142.05   -$2.65  -0.23%   +27.32%    $860.10 78
 Spot silver    $18.52   -$0.02  -0.11%   +54.59%     $11.29 73
 Spot plat    $1436.50   -$3.00  -0.21%    -1.14%   $1362.13 69
 TOCOM gold      3,291       15  +0.46%    +0.98%      3,147 74
 TOCOM plat      4,146      -21  -0.50%    +0.56%      3,960 71
 Currencies                                               
 Euro/dlr       $1.495  -$0.001  -0.09%    +0.57%
 Dlr/yen         89.34     0.01  +0.01%    +0.02%
 (Reporting by Risa Maeda; Editing by Michael Watson)