PRECIOUS-Gold mostly steady under $1,090 after Obama speech

* Gold could drop below $1,080 on view about rates

* SPDR Gold holdings steady

By Miho Yoshikawa

TOKYO, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Gold was mostly unchanged at under
$1,090 per ounce on Thursday as investors mulled direction after
President Barack Obama laid out plans to revive the U.S. economy
in his State of the Union speech.

Spot gold XAU= was little changed at $1,087.70 per ounce as
of 0329 GMT, compared to New York's notional close of $1,087.25.

U.S. gold futures for February delivery GCG0 rose 0.3
percent to $1,088.20 per ounce, compared to $1,087.90 at the
close on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Obama vowed to boost job growth and curb exploding deficits,
as he recast his agenda after suffering a political setback.
[ID:nN26136373]

The economic crisis from late 2008 boosted gold, which
investors bought as a safe-haven asset.

Some market participants also noted that there was a
dissenting voice in the Federal Reserve's decision on Wednesday
to hold rates low.

Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank president dissented because
he wanted the central bank to eliminate a phrase vowing to keep
rates exceptionally low for "an extended period". [ID:nN27180815]

Low global interest rates and concern about inflation were
both instrumental in boosting gold prices to record highs above
$1,220 last December.

Gold is also often bought as a hedge against inflation, which
erodes the value of paper assets.

Kazuhiko Saito, a chief analyst at Tokyo's Fujitomi Co Ltd,
said the investment environment for gold was beginning to look
poor, particularly as an interest rate hike appeared more likely
than it had at one point.

"I think gold might fall below $1,080 as sentiment is not
good for the precious metal," he said.

Industry officials remain bullish over bullion's prospects
for this year, however.

The chairman of Barrick Gold Corp (ABX.TO), the world's
largest gold producer, said on Wednesday that while gold prices
may be volatile its upward climb was not over. [ID:nLDE60Q1TS]

Peter Munk was speaking to Reuters Insider television from
the World Economic Forum in Davos.

For the long term, traders and fund managers were on the
whole positive about gold this year, with prices seen averaging
$1,150.50 an ounce in a Reuters poll of 60 analysts.
[ID:nLDE60O1WG]

Elsewhere, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded
fund, SPDR Gold Trust (GLD), said its holdings stood at 1,111.922
tonnes as of Jan. 27, unchanged from the previous business day.
[GOL/SPDR]

In contrast, the world's largest silver-backed
exchange-traded fund, the iShares Silver Trust (SLV), said its
silver holdings stood at 9,384.98 tonnes as of Jan. 27, inching
up 0.5 percent from the previous business day. [ID:nTOE60Q0B2]
Precious metals prices at 0327 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover
Spot Gold 1088.05 0.80 +0.07 -0.70
Spot Silver 16.53 -0.01 -0.06 -1.78
Spot Platinum 1507.00 4.50 +0.30 2.73
Spot Palladium 412.50 1.00 +0.24 1.73
TOCOM Gold 3170.00 10.00 +0.32 -2.73 41278
TOCOM Platinum 4368.00 46.00 +1.06 -0.30 16571
TOCOM Silver 48.80 -0.30 -0.61 -5.61 372
TOCOM Palladium 1199.00 -13.00 -1.07 2.92 413
Euro/Dollar 1.4004
Dollar/Yen 90.30
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Michael Watson)