PRECIOUS-Gold steady on physical buying; China, U.S. data weigh

                                
 * Gold seen rangebound between $1,370-$1,400 through 
year-end
                                
 * Gold to fall towards $1,350.27 - technicals 
[ID:nL3E6ND00G]
                                
 * Coming up: ECB President Trichet speaks; 1830 GMT

 (Adds details, comment; updates prices)	
                                
 By Rujun Shen	
                                
 SINGAPORE, Dec 13(Reuters) - Spot gold held steady on 
Monday as healthy physical demand helped buoy prices, while 
China's move to further tighten its monetary policy and upbeat 
U.S. economic data weighed on sentiment.	
                                
 China raised banks' reserve requirement ratio on Friday, 
as the country's inflation soared to a 28-month high in 
November and put pressure on the government to step up efforts 
to curb inflation. [ID:nTOE6BB00G] [ID:nTOE6BA009] 
[ID:nTOE6B901S]	
                                
 "There's the possibility that China would tighten its 
policy further," said Ong Yi Ling, an analyst at Philip 
Futures. "It could affect demand for commodities, and gold 
could be caught in a sell-off."	
                                
 The dollar edged higher against a basket of currencies, 
supported by higher Treasury yields after improving U.S. data 
late last week.  	
                                
 A rise in U.S. consumer confidence to its highest in six 
months and a much bigger-than-expected contraction in the 
country's trade deficit pointed to a firmer economic recovery  
on Friday. [ID:nN10163525] 	
                                
 Spot gold gained by 0.2 percent to $1,385.29 an 
ounce by 0304 GMT, after falling by 2.2 percent last week.	
                                
 U.S. gold futures edged up 0.1 percent to $1,386.6 
an ounce.	
                                
 Spot gold is biased to fall even though it is 
rangebound between $1,371 to $1,395 per ounce, said Wang Tao, 
a Reuters market analyst. 	
                                
 For a 24-hour gold technical outlook:	
                                
 http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/WT/20101312081916.jpg 	
                                
 Robust physical demand in the region helped support 
prices, dealers said.	
                                
 "The physical market is very good. Bullion traders and 
some jewellers are buying, as well as some individual 
customers who prefer to sell currency and buy gold," said 
Peter Fung, head of dealing department at Wing Fung Precious 
Metals in Hong Kong.	
                                
 India and China have both shown strong appetite, due to 
seasonal rise in demand, he added.	
                                
 Investors are eyeing a Federal Reserve meeting on Tuesday 
to see whether the proposed $600 billion stimulus plan would 
be carried out, or if further stimulus would be considered to 
jump-start the economy. [ID:nN10128480]	
                                
 "If the Fed hints further QE (quantitative easing), it 
would provide some bullish support to gold," said Ong of 
Philip Futures.	
                                
 "On the longer term, some investors could be buying on 
dips, which also provides support to prices."	
                                
 Platinum group metals rose more than one percent, 
following strength in the industrial metals complex. 	
                                
 Spot platinum rose one percent to $1,682.99 an 
ounce, and palladium gained more than one percent to 
$736.97.	
                                
 Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange 
gained more than one percent, while LME zinc rose more than 
two percent. 
                                
 	
                                
   Precious metals prices at 0304 GMT                             
  Metal             Last    Change  Pct chg  YTD pct chg  Turnover   
  Spot Gold        1385.29    2.14   +0.15     26.43                 
  Spot Silver        28.83    0.28   +0.98     71.30                 
  Spot Platinum    1682.99   17.89   +1.07     14.72                 
  Spot Palladium    736.97    8.69   +1.19     81.74                 
  TOCOM Gold       3751.00   -2.00   -0.05     15.10        33036    
  TOCOM Platinum   4604.00   29.00   +0.63      5.09         7177    
  TOCOM Silver       78.20   -0.10   -0.13     51.26          930    
  TOCOM Palladium  2018.00   -7.00   -0.35     73.22          514    
  Euro/Dollar       1.3189                                           
  Dollar/Yen         84.00                                           
 TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.   	
	
 (Reporting By Rujun Shen; Editing by Manash Goswami)	
 
  
                                
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