PRECIOUS-Gold firms a day after sell-off, dollar in focus

                                
 TOKYO, July 1 (Reuters) - Gold edged higher on Wednesday,
taking a breather after falling more than 1 percent the previous
day when a stronger dollar prompted broad-based selling across
the commodities sector.
                                
 FUNDAMENTALS
                                
 * Gold <XAU=> was at $928.80 an ounce at 0018 GMT, up 0.3
percent from New York's notional close of $925.85.
                                
 * On Tuesday, it fell as low as $922.60, the lowest since
June 24, as the dollar recovered <.DXY> after an unexpected drop
in U.S. consumer confidence data.
                                
 * Investors view gold as an insurance against the falling
value of their dollar-denominated portfolio. Bullion hit a
two-week high of $948.20 late last week. [GOL/]
                                
 * Investors also took profits on the last day of the second
quarter following a period of solid gains across the commodities
group.
                                
 * U.S. markets are closed for the Independence Day holiday on
Friday. Canadian markets are shut on Wednesday for Canada Day.
                                
 * U.S. gold futures for August delivery <GCQ9> were at
$929.20 an ounce, up 0.2 percent from the previous settlement on
the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
                                
 * The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the
SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, said its holdings fell 5.19 tonnes or 0.46
percent to 1,120.55 tonnes. [GOL/SPDR]
                                
 * Gold and gold receivables held by euro zone central banks
fell by 96 million euros to 240.629 billion euros in the week
ended June 26, the European Central Bank said. [ID:nFAE003126]
                                
 * India's gold imports in June were likely around 8 to 10
tonnes, down from 24 tonnes the same month a year earlier, a
senior official from Bombay Bullion Association said.
[ID:nBOM468301]
                                
 MARKET NEWS
                                
 * The dollar edged up against the yen on Wednesday after the
Bank of Japan's quarterly tankan survey for June showed big
manufacturers' sentiment had improved less than expected. [USD/]
                                
 * U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday as an unexpected drop in
consumer confidence cooled recent optimism about an economic
recovery. [.N]
                                
 * Japan's Nikkei share average <.N225> fell 0.7 percent. [.T]
                                
 DATA EVENTS
                                
 * The following data is expected on Wednesday: <ECON>
                                
 - Germany retail sales for May (0600 GMT)
                                
 - Swiss PMI for June (0730 GMT)
                                
 - Euro zone PMI for June (0758 GMT)
                                
 - U.S. ADP employment report for June (1215 GMT)
                                
 - U.S. ISM for June (1400 GMT)
                                
 - U.S. pending home sales for May (1400 GMT)
                                
 - U.S. auto sales for June (N/A)
                                
 RELATED NEWS
 >Commodities markets tumble but end Q2 with big gains [COM/WRAP]
 >Economic data dim hope for quick world recovery  [ID:nSP494674]
 >Mexico April copper, silver output fall sharply [ID:nN30462080]
 >Canadian Mint can't find C$18.8 mln in gold     [ID:nN03432017]
 >India exch eyes trade of 100 T recycled gold    [ID:nBOM515870]
 >Platinum market surplus to narrow -CPM Group    [ID:nN30479873]
 >CFTC looking for excessive speculation          [ID:nN30462188]
                                
 PRICES
  Precious metals prices at 0010 GMT
 Metal         Last      Change  Pct chg  Day ago pct  MA 30  RSI
 Spot gold     $928.60    $2.75  +0.30%    +3.52%    $860.10   42
 Spot silver    $13.65    $0.08  +0.59%   +13.94%     $11.29   34
 Spot plat    $1178.00    $5.50  +0.47%    -0.34%   $1208.97   44
 COMEX gold    $929.20  -$10.30  -1.10%    -0.99%    $949.19   39
 TOCOM gold      2,886      -31  -1.06%    +0.21%      2,959   45
 TOCOM plat      3,660      -50  -1.35%    +0.19%      3,784   44
 Currencies 
 Euro/dlr       $1.403   $0.011  +0.78%    -0.31%
 Dlr/yen         96.28     0.56  +0.59%    +1.12%
 TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams.  Spot prices in $ per ounce.
 (Reporting by Risa Maeda; Editing by Chris Gallagher)