PRECIOUS-Gold little changed, ETF holdings flat

                                
 TOKYO, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Gold was little changed on Friday,
after falling back from a two-month high the previous day due to
a rising dollar, as investors anxiously awaited a key U.S. jobs
report due later in the day.
                                
 FUNDAMENTALS
                                
 * Spot gold <XAU=> was down 0.1 percent at $960.90 an ounce
as of 0006 GMT, compared with New York's notional close of
$962.15.
                                
 * U.S. gold futures for December delivery <GCZ9> edged up to
$963.50 an ounce. The contract fell $3.40 to $962.90 on the COMEX
division of the New York Mercantile Exchange on Thursday.
                                
 * Earlier on Thursday the contract hit a session high of
$974.30, the loftiest price since June 5, on inflation worries as
the Bank of England stunned markets with a big increase in bond
buying to stimulate the economy. [GOL/]
                                
 * The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the
SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, said holdings stood at 1,072.87 tonnes as
of Aug. 6, unchanged from the previous business day. [GOL/SPDR]
                                
 MARKET NEWS
                                
 * The euro rose 0.1 percent to $1.4360 <EUR=> on Friday,
after falling to $1.4328 the previous day, ahead of the much
anticipated U.S. jobs report. [USD/] Earlier this week, the euro
hit its high for this year above $1.44.
                                
 * Japan's Nikkei share average <.N225> was down 0.3 percent.
[.T]
                                
 * U.S. stocks fell on Thursday as investors turned cautious a
day ahead of the key government report on July employment, and
took profits after recent strong gains. [.N]
                                
 * Bank of America Merrill Lynch <BAC.N> said in a research
note on Thursday that it has raised its forecast for platinum
prices in 2010 to an average $1,350 an ounce from $1,250
previously, citing constraints to mine supply. [ID:nL6282991]
                                
 DATA EVENTS
                                
 * The following data is expected on Friday: <ECON>
                                
 - Reserve Bank of Australia statement on policy (0130 GMT)
                                
 - German June trade data (0600 GMT)
                                
 - UK July producer price index (0830 GMT)
                                
 - German June total industrial output (1000 GMT)
                                
 - U.S. employment report for July (1230 GMT)
                                
 - U.S. consumer credit for June (1900 GMT)
                                
 RELATED NEWS
 >Britain prints more money, ECB holds rates      [ID:nN06312506]
 >Dollar rally spurs sell-off in most commodities      [COM/WRAP]
 >Gold miners benefit from lower costs,shares gain[ID:nN06121770]
 >Coeur d'Alene Q2 beats, silver output soars     [ID:nN06505500]
 >Eskom strike threat hits SAfrica's rand          [ID:nL6214056]
 >India gold trade lacklustre on bank strike      [ID:nBOM480828]
                                
 PRICES
                                
 Precious metals prices at 0017 GMT
 Metal         Last      Change  Pct chg  Day ago pct  MA 30  RSI
 Spot gold     $961.00   -$1.15  -0.12%    +7.13%    $860.10   63
 Spot silver    $14.53   -$0.01  -0.07%   +21.29%     $11.29   69
 Spot plat    $1263.00    $3.00  +0.24%    -1.52%   $1176.92   67
 COMEX gold    $963.20    $0.00  +0.00%    -0.15%    $940.15   65
 TOCOM gold      2,957       -1  -0.03%    +0.10%      2,858   68
 TOCOM plat      3,877      -65  -1.65%    +0.10%      3,577   67
 Currencies
 Euro/dlr       $1.437   $0.003  +0.18%    -0.29%
 Dlr/yen         95.41    -0.03  -0.03%    +0.53%
 (Reporting by Risa Maeda; Editing by Chris Gallagher)