PRECIOUS-Gold falls further on fund selling, below $900

                                
 SINGAPORE, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Gold slipped on Wednesday on
fund selling and chart weakness, after last week's rally to a
near four-month high above $930 an ounce was met by heavy
profit taking.
                                
 FUNDAMENTALS
                                
 * Gold <XAU=> was trading at $898.60 an ounce, down $1.80
from New York's notional close on Tuesday and more than 3
percent below last week's highs.
                                
 * Gold was pressured by heavy profit taking and fund
selling as sell-stops accelerated losses when prices dropped
below $900, but dealers said investment inflows should provide
strong underlying support.
                                
 * The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the
SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, said it held arecord of 853.37 tonnes of
gold as of Feb 2, up 9.78 tonnes fromJan. 29. [GOL/SPDR]
                                
 * Sales of gold scraps picked up in Asia after bullion
prices rallied to their highest in nearly four months, turning
off buyers in main consumer India during the wedding season.
[GOL/AS]
                                
 * China's production hit a record 282 tonnes in 2008, the
China Gold Association said, up 4.3 percent from 2007.
[ID:nPEK343174]
                                
 MARKET NEWS
                                
 * Japan's Nikkei average rose 0.9 percent on Wednesday as
tech shares such as Kyocera Corp <6971.T> rose on hopes their
sector will benefit early from any economic recovery, but
profit-taking was expected to cap gains. [.T]
                                
 * The dollar fell versus a basket of currencies on Tuesday
after an unexpected jump in U.S. pending home sales and fresh
stimulative measures by central banks worldwide eroded
safe-haven flows into the greenback. [USD/]
                                
 * Pending sales of previously owned U.S. homes surged in
December as buyers waded back into the market, lured by lower
prices and mortgage rates, data showed on Tuesday, offering a
ray of hope for the troubled economy. [ID:nN03524582]
                                
 * U.S. auto sales plunged to a 27-year low in January, a
steeper-than-expected drop that tookthe slumping U.S. market
below China's for the first time. [ID:nL3485790]
                                
 DATA EVENTS
                                
 * The following data is expected on Wednesday: <ECON>
                                
 - Eurozone Markit composite PMI for Jan
                                
 - Eurozone retail sales for December
                                
 - US ADP emplyment survey for January
                                
 - US ISM non-manufacturing business activity
                                
 RELATED NEWS
                                
>Oil rises as OPEC mulls deeper supply cuts       
[nSP306755]
                                
>US Senate Republicans push alternative stimulus 
[nN03537807]
                                
>Gold ends below $900 as funds sell;ETF at record  [GOL/]
                                
>Copper surges on US home data, oil up on OPEC    
[COM/WRAP]
                                
 PRICES
 Metal         Last      Change  Pct chg  Day ago pct  MA 30
RSI  Spot gold     $898.60   -$1.80  -0.20%    +0.18%   $860.10
  59
 Spot silver    $12.35   -$0.05  -0.40%    +3.09%     $11.29 
71
 Spot plat     $958.00   -$1.50  -0.16%    -1.29%    $958.83 
52
 COMEX gold    $899.50   -$4.00  -0.44%    -0.78%    $866.11 
58
 TOCOM gold      2,593       -2  -0.08%    -1.41%      2,502 
59
 TOCOM plat      2,763      -26  -0.93%    -1.74%      2,706 
56
 Currencies                                                 
Euro/dlr       $1.298  -$0.016  -1.20%    -1.51%
 Dlr/yen         89.48    -0.90  -1.00%    +0.63%
 (Reporting by Lewa Pardomuan; Editing by Michael Urquhart)