TOKYO, April 21 (Reuters) - Gold inched up on Wednesday,
adding to a 0.5 percent gain made the previous day when a
recovery in risk appetite lifted commodities after last week's
sell-off, while palladium climbed to a fresh two-year high.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold <XAU=> edged up 0.2 percent to $1,141.70 an ounce
by 0034 GMT from New York's notional close of $1,139.50. It hit
an almost two-week low of $1,123.15 on Monday.
* Spot palladium <XPD=> hit a new two-year high of $551.75 an
ounce before trading at $550.75, up 0.3 percent from $549.00 in
New York, having exceeded the previous high marked on Tuesday.
The metal is partly supported by exchange-traded fund demand,
particularly from the United States. []
* Spot platinum <XPT=> gained to $1,717.50 an ounce from
$1,714 in New York.
* U.S. gold futures for June delivery <GCM0> advanced to
$1,142.60 an ounce, after settling at $1,139.20 on the COMEX
division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
* On Tuesday, improved U.S. corporate results led by banks
like Goldman Sachs Group Inc <GS.N> and Citigroup Inc <C.N>
prompted funds to buy assets perceived as riskier such as
equities and commodities. []
* The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the
SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, said its holdings stood at 1,141.041
tonnes as of April 20, unchanged from the previous business day
and the same as a record first marked on April 9. []
MARKET NEWS
* The yen was on the defensive on Wednesday as investors
added to long positions in growth-linked currencies, buoyed by
strong U.S. corporate earnings, while the euro struggled with
mounting worries about debt-laden Greece. []
* U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday as oil prices lifted energy
shares and investors were upbeat about the overall profit
recovery, even as some high-profile results fell short of lofty
expectations. []
* Oil prices <CLc1> rose on Tuesday after three sessions of
losses as the threat from Iceland's volcanic ash cloud receded,
letting some European flights resume, and U.S. stocks edged
higher on quarterly results. []
* NovaGold <NG.TO> and Teck Resources <TCKb.TO> have begun a
pre-feasibility study on their Galore Creek gold-copper joint
venture in British Columbia, NovaGold said on Tuesday, signalling
that the high-price project is once again moving forward.
[]
* The Tokyo Commodity Exchange will launch a market maker
system next month, the head of Japan's biggest commodity exchange
said on Tuesday, in a bid to boost liquidity. []
DATA EVENTS
* The following data is expected on Wednesday: <ECON>
- Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Kiyohiko Nishimura holds
press conference (0200 GMT)
- Greece to start talks with EU/IMF on programme (N/A)
- Bank of England April MPC minutes (0830 GMT)
- Weekly U.S. mortgage market index (1100 GMT)
- G20 labour, employment ministers hold press conference in
Washington (1900 GMT)
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PRICES
Precious metals prices at 0001 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg 2 day chg MA 30 RSI
Spot gold $1141.35 $1.85 +0.16% -1.43% $1124.44 50
Spot silver $17.86 $0.05 +0.28% -1.76% $17.57 46
Spot plat $1718.50 $4.50 +0.26% +1.48% $1656.30 60
TOCOM gold 3,428 38 +1.12% +2.08% 3,370 54
TOCOM plat 5,130 102 +2.03% +4.06% 4,943 60
Currencies
Euro/dlr $1.343 -$0.001 -0.08% -0.44%
Dlr/yen 93.09 -0.13 -0.14% +0.71%
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Reporting by Risa Maeda; Editing by Chris Gallagher)
