TOKYO, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Gold prices held steady on
Thursday after rebounding the day before on short covering and
physical buying as the dollar weakened, with investors trading
cautiously before the European Central Bank's policy decision
and U.S. data.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold <XAU=> was steady at $1,137.80 per ounce by
0007 GMT, compared to New York's notional close of $1,137.60.
* U.S. gold futures for February delivery <GCG0> were up
0.1 percent at $1,138.30 per ounce, compared to $1,136.80 an
ounce on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile
Exchange.
* Gold prices rose on Wednesday as a lower dollar prompted
physical buying and short covering. The metal fell sharply the
day before when China's decision to raise its banks' reserve
requirements sparked fears spending would be curtailed and
decreasing bullion's appeal as a hedge against inflation.
* The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund,
SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, said its holdings stood at 1,115.884
tonnes by Jan. 13, unchanged from the previous business day.
The holdings hit a record high of 1,134.03 tonnes on June 1.
[]
MARKET NEWS
* Japan's benchmark Nikkei was up 0.6 percent. []
* U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday as investors bet on
recently weakened technology and financial shares ahead of
earnings from bellwethers Intel Corp <INTC.O> and JPMorgan
Chase & Co <JPM.N>, taking the Dow industrials to a fresh
15-month high. []
* The dollar and the yen steadied on Thursday, having ceded
ground in the previous session, with the unwinding of positions
in commodity currencies, which was triggered by China's move to
start tightening monetary policy, having run its course.
Traders said the focus was turning to the European Central Bank
meeting, U.S. retail sales numbers for December, both due later
in the session, as well as U.S. earnings. []
DATA EVENTS
The following data is expected on Thursday: <ECON>
- German final December inflation. (0700 GMT)
- Euro zone November industrial production. (1000 GMT)
- European Central Bank announces policy decision. (1245
GMT)
- U.S. import/export prices for December. (1330 GMT)
- U.S. retail sales for December. (1330 GMT)
- Weekly U.S. jobless claims. (1330 GMT)
- U.S. business inventories for November. (1500 GMT)
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PRICES
Precious metals prices at 0003 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg Day ago pct MA 30
RSI
Spot gold $1138.65 $1.05 +0.09% -1.66% $1126.97
70
Spot silver $18.59 $0.00 +0.00% +2.26% $17.69
74
Spot plat $1578.50 $4.50 +0.29% +0.64% $1469.72
84
COMEX gold $1139.00 $1.60 +0.14% +0.85% $1136.06
71
TOCOM gold 3,359 37 +1.11% -2.30% 3,292
56
TOCOM plat 4,629 30 +0.65% -2.49% 4,317
68
Currencies
Euro/dlr $1.452 $0.001 +0.10% +0.21%
Dlr/yen 91.37 0.00 +0.00% +0.46%
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Reporting by Chikako Mogi; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
