TOKYO, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Gold prices steadied on Thursday after rallying
the day before to 18-month highs as the dollar slid, with optimism about the
global economy prompting investors to buy riskier and alternative assets.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold <XAU=> was at $1,016 per ounce as of 0000 GMT, slightly below
New York's notional close of $1,016.70. It rose as high as $1,020.50 an ounce on
Wednesday, its highest since March 2008.
* U.S. gold futures for December delivery <GCZ9> eased 0.2 percent to
$1,018.1 per ounce from $1,020.20 an ounce on the COMEX division of the New York
Mercantile Exchange. The contract reached a high of $1,023.30 on Wednesday,
unseen since July 2008. U.S. gold is eyeing the prior record high on gold's
continuation chart of $1,033.90 per ounce
* The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the SPDR Gold Trust
<GLD>, said its holdings rose to 1,086.479 tonnes as of Sept. 16, up 7.628
tonnes or 0.7 percent from the previous business day. <XAUEXT-NYS-TT>.
[]
* Gold's rally helped lift other precious metals, with silver <XAG=> hitting
a 13-month high and platinum <XPT=> touching a 1-year high on Wednesday. Both
metals are used in manufacturing. []
MARKET NEWS
* U.S. stocks rose for a third day on Wednesday, hitting fresh 2009 highs in
a broad-based rally following economic data that suggested a
stronger-than-anticipated global recovery. []
* The low-yielding dollar remained pressured on Thursday after dropping to
near one-year lows against the euro and a basket of currencies on Wednesday as
optimism about the global economy eroded the greenback's safe-haven appeal.
[]
* Oil prices eased slightly but held above $72 a barrel on Thursday after
breaking above that level the day before when a U.S. government report showed a
bigger-than-expected decline in crude inventories. []
DATA EVENTS
* The following data is expected on Thursday: <ECON>
- The Bank of Japan ends two-day policy meeting. (N/A)
- BOJ deputy governor Hirohide Yamaguchi speaks. (0630 GMT)
- Euro zone July trade data. (0900 GMT).
- Weekly U.S. jobless claims. (1230 GMT)
- Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank's business activity index for September.
(1400 GMT)
- IMF's managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn speaks. (1430 GMT)
- Federal Reserve issues quarterly Flow of Funds Accounts of the United
States. (1600 GMT)
RELATED NEWS
>Gold ends near 18-month high as dollar slides []
>US industrial output up again, inflation tame []
>Take-a-look: Denver Gold Forum []
>Metals, oil surge on improving econ;crops down []
>Japan manuf. mood at 1-yr high-Reuters Tankan []
PRICES
Precious metals prices at 2357 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg Day ago pct MA 30 RSI
Spot gold $1016.15 -$0.55 -0.05% +13.28% $860.10 79
Spot silver $17.35 $0.00 +0.00% +44.82% $11.29 84
Spot plat $1342.50 -$2.00 -0.15% +1.47% $1262.15 81
COMEX gold $1017.30 -$1.00 -0.10% +1.19% $968.49 81
TOCOM gold 2,974 8 +0.27% +1.43% 2,915 65
TOCOM plat 3,905 10 +0.26% +2.17% 3,781 71
Currencies
Euro/dlr $1.471 $0.000 -0.01% +0.34%
Dlr/yen 91.00 0.12 +0.13% -0.03%
(Reporting by Chikako Mogi)
