PRECIOUS-Gold steadies near $1,050/oz, ETF unchanged

TOKYO, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Gold prices steadied near $1,050
per ounce on Friday as the dollar remained pressured and kept
bullion's appeal as an alternative asset to the U.S. currency.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold XAU= was up 0.1 percent at $1,046.30 per ounce
as of 2355 GMT Thursday, compared to New York's notional close of
$1,044.95. At current levels, gold was set for a 1 percent drop
on the week.

* U.S. gold futures for December delivery GCZ9 were
unchanged from $1,047.10 an ounce on the COMEX division of NYMEX.

* Gold rose toward $1,050 an ounce on Thursday, gaining 2
percent after data showing U.S. economic growth knocked the
dollar and sent Wall Street into rally mode.

* Other precious metals rose sharply in gold's wake, with
silver XAG= climbing more than 3 percent, platinum XPT=
nearly 2 percent and palladium XPD= nearly 3 percent.

* The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR
Gold Trust (GLD), said its holdings stood at 1,104.434 tonnes as
of Oct. 29, unchanged from the previous business day, after
falling for three days in a row. [GOL/SPDR]

MARKET NEWS

* U.S. stocks logged their best one-day percentage gain in
three months on Thursday as investors saw data showing the U.S.
economy returned to growth in the third quarter as brightening
the outlook for profits. [.N]

* The dollar stayed under pressure on Friday after falling
the previous day when data showing the U.S. economy expanded in
the third quarter for the first quarterly growth in over a year
eroded the greenback's attraction. [USD/]

DATA EVENTS

* The following data is expected on Friday: ECON

- Japan September construction orders. (0500 GMT)

- Japan September housing starts. (0500 GMT)

- The Bank of Japan interest rate decision. (N/A)

- German retail sales for September. (0700 GMT)

- UK house prices for October - Nationwide. (0700 GMT)

- Euro zone consumer prices for October. (1000 GMT)

- Euro zone unemployment data for September. (1000 GMT)

- U.S. employment cost indexfor third quarter. (1230 GMT)

- U.S. personal income/spending for September. (1230 GMT)

- U.S. Chicago PMI for October. (1345 GMT)

- Reuters/University of Michigan October final consumer
sentiment index. (1355 GMT)

RELATED NEWS
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PRICES

Precious metals prices at 2358 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg Day ago pct MA 30 RSI
Spot gold $1046.35 $1.40 +0.13% +16.65% $860.10 52
Spot silver $16.65 $0.02 +0.12% +38.98% $11.29 40
Spot plat $1333.00 -$4.50 -0.34% +2.26% $1326.37 48
TOCOM gold 3,056 45 +1.49% -0.23% 3,011 49
TOCOM plat 3,903 73 +1.91% +0.62% 3,850 49
Currencies
Euro/dlr $1.484 $0.001 +0.05% +0.88%
Dlr/yen 91.50 0.10 +0.11% +0.97%
(Reporting by Chikako Mogi)