SINGAPORE, Jan 11 - Gold traded nearly flat on Friday, taking a breather after a 1-percent climb in the precious session when it tracked the rally in the euro after the European Central Bank kept rates unchanged.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold was little changed at $1,673.54 an ounce by 0030 GMT, on course for a 1-percent weekly gain – its biggest such rise since late November.
* U.S. gold inched down 0.3 percent to $1,673.80.
* The euro zone economy will recover later in 2013 and there are already some signs of stabilisation, the ECB said on Thursday after it unanimously held interest rates at a record low. ECB chief Mario Draghi remained cautious, saying the bank was not thinking about an exit from its crisis policy measures.
* The single currency rose to its highest against the dollar on Thursday, after jumping nearly 1.6 percent on Thursday -- its biggest daily rise since early August. The dollar index lost nearly 1 percent, its sharpest one-day decline since September.
* The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose last week, but details of the report suggested the jobs market continued to grow at a moderate pace. Other data indicated the economy remained on a steady growth path, with sales at wholesalers rising by the most in more than 1-1/2 years in November.
* Spain's first debt auction of the year attracted strong bids, sending its benchmark bond yields to 10-month lows on Thursday, as appetite for high-yielding assets improved.
* Spot platinum rose half a percent to $1,631, on course for a 4-percent weekly rise in its second week of climbs, leading the weekly performance of precious metals. It rose to a near four-week high of $1,632.50.
* Spot palladium gained 0.4 percent to $699.
* Two top Federal Reserve policymakers expressed discomfort on Thursday with the U.S. central bank's easy monetary policy, suggesting Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke may face more dissent this year.
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MARKET NEWS
* U.S. stocks rose on Thursday and the S&P 500 ended at a five-year high as stronger-than-expected exports from China spurred optimism about global growth prospects.
* The yen slid to 2-1/2 year lows on Friday after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the Bank of Japan should consider maximising employment as a policy goal on top of its current price stability mandate.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
01
30 China PPI year on year for Dec
0130 China CPI year on year for Dec
0500 Japan Economy Watchers Survey For December
0800 Spain Industrial Output For November
0930 Uk Industrial Output For November
1330 U.S. International Trade For November
1330 U.S. Import/Export Prices For December
PRICES
Precious metals prices 0030 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Volume
Spot Gold 1673.54 -1.10 -0.07 -0.06
Spot Silver 30.80 -0.02 -0.06 1.72
Spot Platinum 1631.00 8.20 +0.51 6.25
Spot Palladium 699.00 2.70 +0.39 1.01
COMEX GOLD FEB3 1673.80 -4.20 -0.25 -0.12 4688
COMEX SILVER MAR3 30.82 -0.10 -0.32 1.95 2799
Euro/Dollar 1.3267
Dollar/Yen 89.15
COMEX gold and silver contracts show the most active months
