PRECIOUS-Gold up despite firm dollar on investment demand

TOKYO, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Gold prices edged up on Friday
despite the dollar's firmness as sentiment remained upbeat on
strong investment demand for bullion.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold XAU= was steady at $1,143.75 per ounce as of
2340 GMT compared to New York's notional close of $1,143.50. Spot
gold hit a record $1,152.75 an ounce on Wednesday.

* U.S. gold futures for December delivery GCZ9 inched up
0.2 percent to $1,144.1 per ounce from $1,141.90 an ounce on the
NYMEX. Futures hit a record high of $1,153.40 on Wednesday.

* Traders have said prices also got a boost from elevated
levels of call options, or rights to buy, for U.S. December gold
futures.

* The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the
SPDR Gold Trust (GLD), said its holdings stood at 1,117.493
tonnes as of Nov. 19, unchanged from the previous day. [GOL/SPDR]

* The world's largest silver-backed exchange-traded fund, the
iShares Silver Trust (SLV), said its bullion holdings rose 94.73
tonnes or 1.05 percent from the previous day to a fresh record
9,116.04 tonnes as of Nov. 19. [ID:nT203475]

MARKET NEWS

* U.S. stocks slid on Thursday as another batch of economic
data showing weakness in housing and labour markets pointed to
the fragility of the recovery while a brokerage's dim view on the
semiconductor sector hit technology shares. [.N]

* The dollar and yen kept rising against other currencies on
Friday as investors take profits from gains made in the past
months in risk assets including higher-yielding currencies.
Declines in equities are likely to reinforce such moves. [USD/]

DATA EVENTS

* The following data is expected on Friday: ECON

- Bank of Japan announces policy decision. (N/A)

- German October producer prices. (0700 GMT)

- ECB's president Jean-Claude Trichet speaks. (1030 GMT)

- U.S. economic cycle research institute reports weekly index
of economic activity for Nov. 13. (1530 GMT)

- World Bank's president Robert Zoellick participates in a
roundtable event. (1730 GMT)

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PRICES
Precious metals prices at 2345 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg Day ago pct MA 30 RSI
Spot gold $1144.10 $0.60 +0.05% +27.55% $860.10 81
Spot silver $18.48 -$0.03 -0.16% +54.26% $11.29 71
Spot plat $1438.00 -$3.50 -0.24% -0.07% $1365.00 69
COMEX gold $1145.30 -$0.30 -0.03% +0.29% $1083.42 85
TOCOM gold 3,260 -28 -0.85% -0.49% 3,154 63
TOCOM plat 4,104 -37 -0.89% -1.51% 3,966 63
Currencies
Euro/dlr $1.492 $0.000 +0.03% -0.30%
Dlr/yen 88.90 -0.12 -0.13% -0.53%
(Reporting by Chikako Mogi; Editing by Michael Watson)