TOKYO, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Gold was little changed on Tuesday
in light trading as investors were slow to return from the
holidays, with European and other major metals markets closed
since late last week for Christmas.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold <XAU=> stood at $1,106.10 an ounce as of 2356
GMT, compared with New York's notional close of $1,105.60.
* It rose as high as $1,113.60 on Monday, a recovery from a
seven-week low of $1,074.10 hit last week due to a sharp rise in
the dollar against the euro.
* U.S. gold futures for February delivery <GCG0> were down
0.1 percent at $1,106.60 an ounce. The contract settled up $3.10
at $1,107.90 an ounce on the COMEX division of the New York
Mercantile Exchange on Monday.
* British markets were closed for the Boxing Day holiday on
Monday. Markets in India, the world's biggest gold consumer, and
other Commonwealth countries were also shut.
* Noncommercial net long U.S. gold futures positions fell 7
percent to 238,076 contracts in the week to Dec. 22 from 256,108
lots, a weekly report by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading
Commission showed. []
* The net long positions were the lowest since the week to
Nov. 17, when such positions totalled 235,697 contracts.
* The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR
Gold Trust <GLD>, said its holdings stood at 1,132.708 tonnes as
of Dec. 28, unchanged since Dec. 21. Holdings hit a record high
of 1,134.03 tonnes on June 1. []
MARKET NEWS
* Oil prices <CLc1> hovered below a five-week high over $79 a
barrel marked on Monday.
* Japan's Nikkei share average <> was down 0.2 percent.
[]
* The dollar rose against the yen and euro in holiday-thinned
trading on Monday as investors assessed the outlook for the
greenback after a recent rally. []
* U.S. stocks edged higher for a sixth straight day on Monday
as data indicating improved consumer spending lifted shares of
retailers, offsetting a drop in airline shares amid security
worries. []
* U.S. retailers posted a better performance during the 2009
holiday shopping season, with sales as tracked by MasterCard
Advisors unit SpendingPulse up 3.6 percent. []
DATA EVENTS
* The following data is expected on Tuesday: <ECON>
- U.S. consumer confidence for Dec (1500 GMT)
- U.S. S&P Case/Shiller Home Price Index for Oct (1400 GMT)
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PRICES
Precious metals prices at 2359 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg Day ago pct MA 30 RSI
Spot gold $1104.90 -$0.70 -0.06% -4.58% $1142.65 47
Spot silver $17.46 -$0.04 -0.23% -3.96% $17.98 53
Spot plat $1481.50 $2.50 +0.17% +1.61% $1447.51 68
COMEX gold $1105.90 -$2.90 -0.26% +0.10% $1143.84 43
TOCOM gold 3,282 -10 -0.30% +0.52% 3,288 52
TOCOM plat 4,375 3 +0.07% +0.69% 4,163 77
Currencies
Dlr/yen 91.67 0.08 +0.09% +0.54%
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Reporting by Risa Maeda; Editing by Chris Gallagher)
