PRECIOUS-Gold inches up to top $950

                                
 TOKYO, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Gold rose on Friday to top $950
after ending slightly higher in the previous session on a weaker
dollar and a firm equities market.
                                
 FUNDAMENTALS
                                
 * Gold <XAU=> was at $950.20 per ounce at 2346 GMT, up 0.4
percent from the New York notional close of $946.75.
                                
 * U.S. gold futures for December delivery <GCZ9> were at
$951.50 per ounce, also up 0.4 percent.
                                
 * The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the
SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, said holdings stood at 1,061.83 tonnes as
of Aug. 27, unchanged from the previous business day. [GOL/SPDR]
                                
 * The world's largest silver-backed exchange-traded fund, the
iShares Silver Trust <SLV>, said its bullion holdings as of Aug.
27 fell 82.6 tonnes or 0.9 percent from the previous business day
to 8,742.07 tonnes.
                                
 MARKET NEWS
                                
 * The dollar fell to multiweek lows against the yen and the
euro on Thursday and commodity-linked currencies rallied as a
recovery in stocks and the price of oil quelled some worries
about the global economy. [USD/]
                                
 * U.S. stocks closed higher on Thursday as investors turned
back an early sell-off, thanks to a rebound in oil prices. [.N]
                                
 * Oil prices pulled out of a two-day slump on Thursday,
supported by a rebound on Wall Street and losses in the dollar.
[O/R]
                                
 DATA EVENTS
                                
 * The following data is expected on Friday: <ECON>
                                
 - French quarterly industrial investment (0650 GMT)
                                
 - Swedish July PPI                       (0730 GMT)
                                
 - Swedish July retail sales              (0730 GMT)
                                
 - Italian July PPI                       (0800 GMT)
                                
 - UK Q2 GDP, second release              (0830 GMT)
                                
 - U.S. July personal income/spending     (1230 GMT)
                                
 - Reuters/Univ Mich final Aug consumer sentiment (1355 GMT)
                                
 - U.S. ECRI weekly                       (1430 GMT)
                                
 RELATED NEWS
 >Gold rises on dollar weakness, economic optimism         [GOL/]
 >Cocoa down, Wall St steadies some futures            [COM/WRAP]
 >Implats warns of layoffs, S.Africa strike flares [ID:nLR721042]
 >U.S. economy shrinks less, jobless claims fall  [ID:nN27303398]
 >US problem bank list hits 416, recovery eyed    [ID:nN27314580]
                                
 PRICES
                                
 Precious metals prices at 2343 GMT
  Metal         Last      Change  Pct chg  Day ago pct  MA 30
 Spot gold     $949.85    $3.10  +0.33%    +5.89%    $860.10
 Spot silver    $14.29    $0.05  +0.35%   +19.28%     $11.29
 Spot plat    $1238.50   -$2.00  -0.16%   +23.91%    $961.97
 COMEX gold    $948.80   $56.50  +6.33%    +3.83%    $872.79
 TOCOM gold      2,848      192  +7.23%    +5.91%      2,529
 TOCOM plat      3,710      799 +27.45%   +29.00%      2,759
 Currencies
 Euro/dlr       $1.437   $0.136 +10.45%   +10.86%
 Dlr/yen         93.65     2.19  +2.39%    +1.99%
 TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams.  Spot prices in $ per ounce.
 (Reporting by Miho Yoshikawa; Editing by Michael Watson)