SHANGHAI, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Gold prices edged lower on
Wednesday, after the uncertain economic outlook drove gold to a
two-month peak on Tuesday.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold <XAU=> was down $3.24, or 0.3 percent, to
$1,245.75 an ounce by 0016 GMT after having hit a two-month
high of $1,249.90 on Tuesday.
* U.S. gold futures for December delivery <GCZ0> inched
down 0.2 percent to $1,248.1 an ounce.
* The uncertainties in the economic outlook helped propel
gold to its biggest monthly gain in August. A fresh batch of
data from the United States showed a modest rise in U.S.
consumer confidence and home prices, but slower business
activity in the U.S. Midwest. [ID:nN31237504]
* The Federal Reserve said it would launch fresh support
only if the U.S. economy deteriated "appreciably", according to
minutes of the central bank's last policy meetings.
[ID:nN31253959]
* The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund,
SPDR Gold Trust <GLD.P>, said its holdings rose to 1,302.508
tonnes by Aug. 31, from 1,298.556 tonnes on Aug. 27.
* Investors must be cautious in investing in gold and alert
to gold prices "plunges" caused by heavy selling by overseas
central banks, said a researcher with China's central bank.
[ID:nTOE67U09P]
MARKET NEWS
* The yen edged up toward a 15-year peak against the dollar
on Wednesday, having shrugged off this week's monetary easing
by the Bank of Japan and putting the focus on whether Japan
will intervene to stem the yen's rise. [USD/]
* U.S. stocks ended little changed in choppy trading on
Tuesday, closing out an August the bulls would like to
forget.[.N]
DATA/EVENTS
* 0130 GMT Australia Q2 gross domestic product
* 0600 GMT German July retail sales
* 0753 GMT German August manufacturing PMI
* 0758 GMT Euro zone August manufacturing PMI
* 1215 GMT U.S. ADP August empoyment report
* 1400 GMT U.S. July construction spending
RELATED NEWS > Obama: U.S. economy must be "central
mission" [ID:nLDE67T0UW] > Fed mulls stimulus if outlook
worsens
[ID:nN31253959] > S.Korea c.bank reaffirms tightening policy
[ID:nTOE67U096] > US consumer confidence, home prices edge
up
[ID:nN31237504] > Wall Street ends dismal month on flat note
[ID:nN31261350] > Australia manufacturing growth slows in
August [ID:nSGE67U0KU] > China official repeats property mkt
curbs [ID:nTOE67U08V] > US oil slumps on economy, drops
8.9 pct in Aug [ID:nSGE67U05X] > Euro zone Aug inflation,
jobless [ID:nLDE67U10E] > Canada economy slows
sharply in second quarter [ID:nN31202447] > German jobless drop
helps broaden recovery [ID:nLDE67U0LJ] > US turns down
China FX probes in two cases [ID:nN31249414]
PRICES
Precious metals prices at 0016 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 1245.75 -3.24 -0.26 13.69
Spot Silver 19.32 -0.02 -0.10 14.80
Spot Platinum 1517.00 0.60 +0.04 3.41
Spot Palladium 497.50 0.80 +0.16 22.69
TOCOM Gold 3381.00 35.00 +1.05 3.74
12170
TOCOM Platinum 4134.00 20.00 +0.49 -5.64
4347
TOCOM Silver 52.70 1.20 +2.33 1.93
149
TOCOM Palladium 1353.00 23.00 +1.73 16.14
60
Euro/Dollar 1.2675
Dollar/Yen 84.16
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Reporting by Rujun Shen and Jacqeline Wong; Editing by
Clarence Fernandez)