TOKYO, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Gold prices steadied at around $1,000 per ounce on Tuesday, underpinned by a fall in the dollar versus the euro, while investors were mostly cautious on whether the metal's recent run to an 18-month high was overdone.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold <XAU=> edged up 0.2 percent to $1,000.85 per ounce as of 0012 GMT, compared to New York's notional close of $998.65. It hit $1,011.55 on Friday, its highest since March 2008.
* Gold jumped 1 percent on Friday, closing above $1,000 an ounce for the first time since March 2008 as a slumping dollar and inflation fears stirred investment demand for bullion.
* U.S. gold futures for December delivery <GCZ9> rose 0.2 percent to $1,002.80 per ounce. On Monday, the contract fell $5.30 to $1,001.10 on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, retreating further from a Friday high of 1,013.70, its highest since Feb. 20.
* The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, said its holdings rose by 1.221 tonnes to 1,078.851 tonnes on Monday, marking their first rise since Sept. 3. [
]* ETF Securities said on Monday the amount of metal it holds to back its gold exchange-traded commodities rose to record highs in the week to Sept. 11. [
]MARKET NEWS
* The euro climbed in early trade on Tuesday, staying in sight of its 2009 highs. [
]* Surging investment demand for gold due to a weaker dollar and inflation fears is likely to offset a decline in jewellery buying this year, leading to an overall rise in demand, metals consultancy GFMS said on Monday. [
]* Gold prices are likely to correct after their current run above $1,000 an ounce, but may rebound to as high as $1,100 within the next six months if inflation fears grow, GFMS said in an interview. [
]* Japan's Nikkei share average <
> rose 0.8 percent. [ ]* U.S. stocks rose on Monday as reports of more merger activity added to a string of recent deals, suggesting investors still see value in the market after its run-up of more than 50 percent since March. [
]DATA EVENTS
* The following data is expected on Tuesday: <ECON>
- Germany ZEW economist sentiment for Sept (0900 GMT)
- Euro zone wages for Q2 (0900 GMT)
- U.S. PPI/Core PPI for Aug (1230 GMT)
- U.S. retail sales for Aug (1230 GMT)
- New York Fed Empire State survey for Sept (1230 GMT)
- Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke speaks (1400 GMT)
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Precious metals prices at 0016 GMT Metal Last Change Pct chg Day ago pct MA 30 RSI Spot gold $1001.50 $2.85 +0.29% +11.65% $860.10 73 Spot silver $16.64 $0.13 +0.79% +38.90% $11.29 75 Spot plat $1311.00 -$2.50 -0.19% +38.15% $948.98 77 COMEX gold $1001.60 $113.40 +12.77% +11.35% $857.64 72 TOCOM gold 2,944 361 +13.98% +12.84% 2,476 54 TOCOM plat 3,846 1106 +40.36% +39.10% 2,659 60 Currencies Euro/dlr $1.465 $0.151 +11.50% +11.15% Dlr/yen 90.99 0.61 +0.67% +2.33% (Reporting by Risa Maeda; Editing by Joseph Radford)