TOKYO, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Gold was mostly flat on Wednesday,
while platinum and palladium were off multi-month highs marked
the previous day on the back of investment demand fuelled by the
recent launch of exchange traded funds.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold <XAU=> was at $1,138.70 an ounce as of 0021 GMT,
inching up from New York's notional close of $1,137.95.
* U.S. gold futures for February delivery <GCG0> were at
$1,139 an ounce, down a touch from $1,140 on the COMEX division
of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
* Spot palladium <XPD=> was at $462.75 per ounce, down from
$464.50 in New York when it hit $466, its highest since July 2008
on Tuesday.
* Spot platinum <XPT=> was at $1,638.50, down from New York's
notional close of $1,643.00. It rose as high as $1,647.50 on
Tuesday, a level not seen since August 2008.
* Platinum and palladium, both valued for their use in
catalytic converters, have been trading at multi-month highs
helped by investment demand after the launch of U.S.-based
exchange-traded funds backed by the metals this month.
* The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR
Gold Trust <GLD>, said its holdings stood at 1,111.922 tonnes as
of Jan. 19, down 0.08 percent from the previous business day.
[]
MARKET NEWS
* U.S. stocks rose broadly on Tuesday, lifting the Dow and
the S&P 500 to fresh 15-month closing highs as investors bet a
potential Republican victory in Massachusetts' Senate race could
stall President Barack Obama's healthcare reform agenda. []
* The euro fell broadly on Tuesday as German investor
sentiment soured while worries about Greece's finances stoked
concerns that swelling deficits in the Euro zone's weaker members
will keep pressure on the currency. []
DATA EVENTS
* The following data is expected on Wednesday: <ECON>
- German PPI for December (0700 GMT)
- Italian industrial orders for November (0900 GMT)
- UK jobs data (0930 GMT)
- Weekly U.S. mortgage market index (1200 GMT)
- ICSC/Goldman Sachs weekly U.S. chain store sales (1245 GMT)
- U.S. PPI/Core PPI for December (1330 GMT)
- U.S. Dec housing starts/building permits (1330 GMT)
- Redbook weekly U.S. retail sales (1355 GMT)
RELATED NEWS
>Platinum at multi-month highs; gold turns higher []
>Platinum, sugar jump as fund money returns []
>US homebuilder sentiment falls again in January []
>Citigroup Q4 loss narrows, loans seem to stabilize
[]
>China, Taiwan wary of bubbles, step up tightening
[]
PRICES
Precious metals prices at 0018 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg 2 Day chg MA 30 RSI
Spot gold $1138.90 $0.95 +0.08% -1.64% $1118.31 56
Spot silver $18.74 $0.01 +0.05% +3.08% $17.68 69
Spot plat $1643.50 $0.50 +0.03% +1.95% $1498.28 81
COMEX gold $1139.30 $1.10 +0.10% +0.52% $1125.66 55
TOCOM gold 3,352 32 +0.96% +0.84% 3,296
TOCOM plat 4,797 56 +1.18% +1.78% 4,414
Currencies
Euro/dlr $1.428 -$0.002 -0.13% -0.73%
Dlr/yen 91.19 0.09 +0.10% +0.52%
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Reporting by Miho Yoshikawa)
