PRECIOUS-Gold holds near NY levels, awaits U.S. payrolls data

SINGAPORE, March 5 (Reuters) - Gold hardly changed on Friday and looked set to trade in a tight rage ahead U.S. payrolls data, which could determine the direction of the dollar against the euro.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold <XAU=> was at $1,131.00 an ounce by 0037 GMT, down 45 cents from New York's notional close on Thursday, when it extended losses as investors booked profit from this week's rally to a 6-½ week high.

* Gold had gained as much as $30 an ounce this week before Thursday's decline, as uncertainty about Greece's ability to repay its crippling debt increased the metal's appeal as a hedge against currency volatility.

* U.S. gold futures for April delivery <GCJ0> fell $1.5 an ounce to $1,131.60 an ounce.

* The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, said its holdings stood at 1,115.511 tonnes as of March 4, unchanged from the previous business day. [GOL/SPDR]

MARKET NEWS

* The euro <EUR=> was on the defensive on Friday, as a short squeeze in the single currency appeared to have run in course, with investors fretting about debt-laden Greece and Moody's cutting Deutsche Bank's ratings. [USD/]

* Markets expect Friday's key monthly report on non-farm payrolls to show employers cut 50,000 jobs last month, though analysts expect some of that will have been influenced by bad weather.

* Oil fell nearly 1 percent toward $80 a barrel on Thursday as the dollar strengthened and some weak economic data soured sentiment after crude hit a seven-week high on Wednesday. [O/R]

* U.S. stocks rose on Thursday as better-than-expected monthly sales from retailers and a drop in the number of Americans filing claims for jobless benefits pointed to stabilization in the economy. [.N]

DATA EVENTS

* The following data is expected on Friday <ECON>

- UK producer prices for Feb (0930 GMT)

- U.S. employment report for Feb (1330 GMT)

- U.S. ECRI future inflation gauge for Feb (1440 GMT)

- U.S. ECRI weekly (1530 GMT)

- U.S. consumer credit for Jan (2000 GMT)

RELATED NEWS > China reaffirms yuan, monetary and fiscal policy [nBJC002503] > US jobless, productivity data lift recovery hopes [nN04232780] > BOJ examining easing monetary policy again-Nikkei [nTOE6230A7] > Greece draws strong bond demand at high price [nLDE6230PC] > ECB inches toward end of crisis lending [nLDE62307B] > Nikkei rises 1.1 pct as exporters gain on yen [nTOE624002] > Fewer discounts help US stores weather Feb snow [nN04143897] > Fed's Bullard: Adjust quantitative easing [nN0498897] > FX risk to inflation may merit ECB move-Constancio[nN04173078] > Exports drive weak euro zone growth in Q4 [nLDE6231AD] Precious metals prices at 0037 GMT Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover Spot Gold 1131.00 -0.45 -0.04 3.22 Spot Silver 17.11 0.01 +0.06 1.66 Spot Platinum 1570.00 -6.50 -0.41 7.02 Spot Palladium 458.25 -0.25 -0.05 13.01 TOCOM Gold 3255.00 24.00 +0.74 -0.12 19240 TOCOM Platinum 4495.00 62.00 +1.40 2.60 6481 TOCOM Silver 49.70 0.70 +1.43 -3.87 325 TOCOM Palladium 1310.00 55.00 +4.38 12.45 434 Euro/Dollar 1.3583 Dollar/Yen 89.23 TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce. (Reporting by Lewa Pardomuan; Editing by Himani Sarkar)