TOKYO, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Gold prices were steady near
$1,090.00 per ounce on Thursday as trading was subdued with many players out for
the Christmas holidays and investors squaring positions before the year-end.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold <XAU=> inched up 0.3 percent to $1,090.30 as of 0010 GMT,
compared to New York's notional close of $1,087.00 per ounce. Spot gold <XAU=>
fell to a 7-week low of $1,074.10 an ounce on Tuesday.
* Gold rose nearly 1 percent on Wednesday, when the dollar gave up ground to
the euro after news that sales of U.S. single-family homes slid to a seven-month
low in November called into question the day-earlier optimism that sent gold to
a 7-week low.
* The 11.3 percent drop in newly built U.S. home sales dealt a blow to the
housing market's recovery. Story: [] * U.S. gold futures for
February delivery <GCG0> eased 0.2 percent to $1,091.50, compared to $1,094.00
an ounce on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures also
hit a 7-week low of $1,075.20 on Tuesday.
* The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust
<GLD>, said its holdings stood at 1,132.708 tonnes as of Dec. 23, unchanged from
the previous business day and staying just below a record high of 1,134.03
tonnes hit on June 1.
[]
* The world's largest silver-backed exchange-traded fund, iShares Silver
Trust <SLV>, said its silver holdings stood at 9,492.97 tonnes as of Dec. 23,
unchanged from the previous business day, after easing from a record high of
9,514.35 tonnes on Dec. 22. []
MARKET NEWS
* U.S. technology shares rose on Wednesday after solid earnings from Micron
Technology and Red Hat, but an unexpected drop in new home sales kept a lid on
the broader market's gains. []
* The dollar hovered just below the week's peaks on Thursday, after falling
for the first time in five sessions against the euro the day before when data
showed U.S. new home sales unexpectedly fell in November to a seven-month low
and dented optimism about the economy. []
DATA EVENTS
* The following data is expected on Thursday: <ECON>
- Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa speaks. (0515 GMT)
- Weekly U.S. jobless claims. (1330 GMT)
- U.S. durable goods orders for November. (1330 GMT)
- Economic Cycle Research Institute releases its weekly index of economic
activity for the week ended Dec. 18. (1530 GMT)
RELATED NEWS
>Gold's advance sticks after weak US housing data []
>Oil, copper rise in light trade as dollar falls []
>Oil rises over 3 percent on US crude stock draw[]
PRICES
Precious metals prices at 0012 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg Day ago pct MA 30 RSI
Spot gold $1090.65 $3.65 +0.34% -5.81% $1144.37 34
Spot silver $17.13 $0.04 +0.23% -5.78% $18.00 40
Spot plat $1419.00 $0.50 +0.04% +1.83% $1439.63 47
COMEX gold $1091.60 $3.30 +0.30% +0.45% $1144.22 32
TOCOM gold 3,229 1 +0.03% -0.68% 3,288 45
TOCOM plat 4,201 36 +0.86% +0.70% 4,130 62
Currencies
Euro/dlr $1.433 $0.001 +0.06% +0.60%
Dlr/yen 91.62 -0.01 -0.01% -0.24%
(Reporting by Chikako Mogi; Editing by Michael Watson)
