PRECIOUS-Gold wavers near $1,095 in cautious trade

TOKYO, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Gold prices traded narrowly around
$1,095 an ounce on Monday in a cautious start to the year after
ending 2009 with their biggest absolute annual gain in three
decades.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold XAU= stood at $1,093.15 an ounce as of 0012
GMT, down 0.3 percent from New York's notional close of $1,096.35
after earlier rising to as high as $1,099.75.

* U.S. gold futures for February delivery GCG0 stood at
$1,095.20 an ounce, down 0.1 percent from Dec. 31.

* Gold prices made consistent gains in 2009, rising about 25
percent, due to bullion's role as a hedge against economic
uncertainties after the worst economic crisis since the Great
Depression.

* It was up over $210 an ounce in the biggest dollar gains
since 1979.

* The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR
Gold Trust (GLD), said its holdings stood at 1,133.622 tonnes as
of Dec. 31, unchanged from the previous business day. [GOL/SPDR]

MARKET NEWS

* U.S. stocks ended 2009 on Thursday with their best gains
since 2003, driven by optimism about the economy's recovery and a
brighter outlook for profits. [.N]

* The dollar rose to its highest level in more than three
months against the yen on Thursday in holiday-thinned trading
after data showed U.S. jobless claims fell to their lowest since
mid-2008, affirming optimism about the economy.

* Oil finished 2009 above $79 a barrel on Thursday, climbing
78 percent last year and notching the biggest annual gain in a
decade. [O/R]

* Financial markets in Asia, Europe and the U.S. were closed
on Jan. 1 for the New Year holiday.

DATA EVENTS

* The following data is expected on Monday: ECON

- Euro zone Dec manufacturing PMI (0858 GMT)

- Euro zone sentix index (0930 GMT)

- UK consumer credit and money supply (0930 GMT)

- U.S. construction spending for Nov (1500 GMT)

- U.S. ISM for Dec (1500 GMT)

RELATED NEWS
> PRECIOUS-Gold ekes gains to end 2009 with 25 pct return [GOL/]
> Biggest gains in 36 years, copper, sugar lead [COM/WRAP]
> Fed defends policies, sees slow recovery [ID:nN03209439]

PRICES

Precious metals prices at 0010 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg Day ago pct MA 30 RSI
Spot gold $1093.95 -$2.40 -0.22% -5.52% $1133.91 41
Spot silver $16.83 -$0.01 -0.06% -7.43% $17.72 37
Spot plat $1468.50 $3.00 +0.20% +0.20% $1450.10 56
COMEX gold $1096.90 $4.40 +0.40% -0.11% $1139.88 45
TOCOM gold 3,279 20 +0.61% +0.18% 3,282
TOCOM plat 4,403 18 +0.41% +0.71% 4,179
Currencies
Euro/dlr $1.431 -$0.002 -0.12% -0.07%
Dlr/yen 92.76 -0.24 -0.26% -0.15%
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Reporting by Miho Yoshikawa; Editing by Chris Gallagher)