TOKYO, July 15 (Reuters) - Gold steadied around $1,210 per
ounce on Thursday after falling about $3 the previous day when
views for tame inflation spread after the Federal Reserve's
minutes of its last meeting showed policy makers were concerned
the U.S. recovery may be slowing.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold <XAU=> was at $1,210 per ounce as of 0014 GMT, up
0.2 percent from late New York levels of $1,207.50. []
* Spot gold rose to a one-week high of $1,217.85 an ounce on
Wednesday. But it later followed the euro and U.S. equity markets
lower, with all responding to lessening investor interest in
taking on risk after the Federal Reserve's meeting minutes
revealed its concerns about a weakening U.S. economy.
* U.S. gold futures for August delivery <GCQ0> edged up to
$1,210.60 per ounce. The contract fell $6.50 to $1,207 on the
COMEX metals division of the New York Mercantile Exchange on
Wednesday.
* The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the
SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, said holdings stood at 1,314.819 tonnes as
of Wednesday, unchanged for the second day in a row. The holdings
hit a record 1,320.436 tonnes marked in late June. []
MARKET NEWS
* The dollar was under pressure on Thursday, holding near
two-month lows on a basket of currencies, although high-yielders
like the Australian dollar were vulnerable to a sell-off if
Chinese data disappointed. []
* The Chinese economy may slow more sharply than expected in
the second half of the year, so the government should refrain
from any further policy tightening, the official China Securities
Journal said on Thursday. []
* Japan's Nikkei stock average <> was down 1.1 percent
[]
* U.S. stocks broke a six-day winning streak on Wednesday,
with the S&P 500 ending a hair lower after the Federal Reserve
suggested additional measures may be needed to combat a weakening
economy. []
DATA EVENTS
* The following data is expected on Thursday: <ECON>
- Bank of Japan rate decision after two-day meeting (N/A)
- China second-quarter GDP (0200 GMT)
- China June producer and consumer price indices (0200 GMT)
- China June industrial output (0200 GMT)
- China June retail sales (0200 GMT)
- Swiss Zew invest sentiment index for July (0900 GMT)
- Weekly U.S. jobless claims (1230 GMT)
- U.S. PPI/core PPI for June (1230 GMT)
- New York Fed Empire State Survey for July (1230 GMT)
- U.S. industrial output/cap use for June (1315 GMT)
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PRICES
Precious metals prices at 0027 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg 2 day chg MA 30 RSI
Spot gold $1210.05 $2.55 +0.21% +4.50% $1227.30 31
Spot silver $18.29 $0.05 +0.27% +0.61% $18.35 32
Spot plat $1516.00 -$3.50 -0.23% -0.56% $1547.25 30
COMEX gold $1210.30 $3.30 +0.27% -0.26% $1194.76 65
TOCOM gold 3,441 -38 -1.09% +0.50% 3,538 45
TOCOM plat 4,339 -73 -1.65% -0.18% 4,476 43
Currencies
Euro/dlr $1.273 $0.014 +1.10% +0.79%
Dlr/yen 88.13 -0.52 -0.59% -0.65%
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Reporting by Risa Maeda; Editing by Joseph Radford)
