TOKYO, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Gold was off three-week lows but
remained pressured on Wednesday as the dollar rose, with
concerns about sovereign debt troubles prompting investors to
reduce risk exposure and cut positions.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold <XAU=> was up 0.2 percent at $1,131.25 an ounce
as of 0009 GMT, compared with New York's notional close of
$1,129.30. On Tuesday, spot gold fell as low as $1,125.15, the
lowest since Nov. 16.
* U.S. gold futures for February delivery <GCG0> fell 1
percent to $1,132.50 an ounce from $1,143.40 on NYMEX. Futures
also fell to a three-week low, of $1,125.30 on Tuesday.
* The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR
Gold Trust <GLD>, said its holdings fell to 1,116.247 tonnes as
of Dec. 8, down 1.2 percent or 13.719 tonnes from the previous
business day. It was the largest one-day drop in about five
months. Holdings hit a record high of 1,134.03 tonnes on June 1.
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MARKET NEWS
* Japan's Nikkei share average fell more than 1 percent. []
* Japanese gross domestic product grew a revised 0.3 percent
in July-September from the previous quarter, against economists'
median forecast for a 0.7 percent expansion. The sharp downward
revision from a preliminary rise of 1.2 percent was due to a drop
in capital spending, which came against an initially estimated
rise. [] []
* The euro <EUR=> fell to a one-month low against the dollar
while the dollar rose to its highest against a basket of major
currencies on Wednesday as investors used the excuse of concerns
about rising sovereign debt troubles to unwind leveraged carry
trades ahead of the year end. []
* U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday after disappointing corporate
news from 3M Co and McDonald's while negative developments in
global credit markets caused a shift to safe-haven assets. []
DATA EVENTS
* The following data is expected on Wednesday: <ECON>
- Bank of England starts monetary policy meeting (N/A)
- German final CPI for November. (0700 GMT)
- German trade balance for October. (0700 GMT)
- UK trade balance for October. (0930 GMT)
- Weekly U.S. mortgage market index. (1200 GMT)
- UK pre-budget report. (1230 GMT)
- U.S. wholesale inventories for October. (1500 GMT)
RELATED NEWS
>Gold hits 3-wek low; dollar rise spooks investors []
>Oil drops below $73 on dollar, inventories []
>Debt blow puts Greek rating to euro zone lowest []
>Oil down 5th day, gold at 3-week low, on dollar []
PRICES
Precious metals prices at 0015 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg Day ago pct MA 30 RSI
Spot gold $1131.50 $2.20 +0.19% +26.14% $860.10 35
Spot silver $17.59 $0.00 +0.00% +46.83% $11.29 32
Spot plat $1418.00 $8.00 +0.57% -1.36% $1426.57 41
COMEX gold $1132.70 $3.20 +0.28% -2.69% $1145.05 37
TOCOM gold 3,235 -99 -2.97% -3.49% 3,277 37
TOCOM plat 4,052 -125 -2.99% -2.48% 4,062 41
Currencies
Euro/dlr $1.469 -$0.001 -0.05% -0.87%
Dlr/yen 88.54 0.18 +0.20% -1.08%
(Reporting by Chikako Mogi; Editing by Chris Gallagher)
