PRECIOUS-Gold edges up as investors await EU summit

SINGAPORE, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Gold prices edged up on
Friday, rebounding from their biggest daily decline in nearly
three weeks in the previous session, after the European Central
Bank dashed expectations of more aggressive bond purchases on
the eve of a key EU summit. 
     
    FUNDAMENTALS 
    * Spot gold edged up 0.3 percent to $1,712.09 an
ounce by 0021 GMT, on course for a fall of nearly 2 percent on
the week, its third week of losses in the past four. 
    * U.S. gold inched up 0.2 percent to $1,716.50. 
    * The European Central Bank cut its benchmark interest rate
by 25 basis points as expected, but dampened hopes for further
bond-buying, unnerving markets just before a crucial European
Union summit.  
    * European leaders agreed on new fiscal rules enshrining
tougher budget discipline on Thursday, an EU official said.
  
    * Besides the EU summit, investors will watch a spate of
data out of China, including inflation, industrial output and
retail sales later in the day, besides preliminary trade figures
on Saturday.   
    * Commodity exchange traded products (ETPs) gathered the
most assets globally of any sector in November as investors
continued to shovel money into gold due to an intensification of
the eurozone debt crisis.  
    * The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment
benefits dropped to a nine-month low last week, suggesting the
labor market's recovery was gaining momentum.  
    * For the top stories on metals and other news, click
, or  
     
    MARKET NEWS 
    * Wall Street fell on Thursday after the European Central
Bank dashed hopes that policy-makers were preparing a financial
"bazooka" to contain the debt crisis, and Germany rejected some
proposals to add power to the euro zone's bailout fund.  
    * The euro held steady on Friday, after staging its biggest
one-day loss against the dollar in the previous session, as the
European Central Bank disappointed the markets.  
     
    DATA/EVENTS 
 0130  China     CPI yy                    Nov 2011               
 0130  China     PPI yy                    Nov 2011               
 0530  China     Industrial output yy      Nov 2011               
 0530  China     Retail sales yy           Nov 2011               
 0530  China     Urban investment (ytd)yy  Nov 2011               
 0745  France    Industrial output mm      Oct 2011               
 2030  U.S.      CFTC traders' commitment  Weekly                 
       China     Exports yy                Nov 2011               
       China     Imports yy                Nov 2011               
       China     Trade balance             Nov 2011               
  
    PRICES 
 Precious metals prices 0021 GMT
  Metal             Last    Change  Pct chg  YTD pct chg    Volume
  Spot Gold        1712.09    4.30   +0.25     20.62
  Spot Silver        31.73    0.10   +0.32      2.82
  Spot Platinum    1501.00   10.00   +0.67    -15.08
  Spot Palladium    671.97    0.97   +0.14    -15.95
  TOCOM Gold       4286.00  -61.00   -1.40     14.94        34229
  TOCOM Platinum   3775.00  -25.00   -0.66    -19.61         5949
  TOCOM Silver       78.60   -1.70   -2.12     -2.96          221
  TOCOM Palladium  1690.00  -12.00   -0.71    -19.41          266
  COMEX GOLD FEB2  1716.50    3.10   +0.18     20.76         2893
  COMEX SILVER MAR2  31.80    0.26   +0.83      2.78          291
  Euro/Dollar       1.3349
  Dollar/Yen         77.67
  TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
  COMEX gold and silver contracts show the most active months
  
 (Reporting by Rujun Shen)

Source; http://www.reuters.com/