PRECIOUS-Gold ticks higher after 1 pct rise; eyes U.S. data

* Gold ticks up as euro holds gains, awaits U.S. data

* Oil bounces higher
(Updates prices, adds quotes)

By Lewa Pardomuan

SINGAPORE, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Gold gained on Friday as the
euro held steady against the dollar and oil prices rebounded,
but investors were cautious ahead of potentially market-moving
U.S. economic data.

Gold regained the psychological $1,100 level on Thursday on
bargain hunting and an unverified report that China would buy
IMF gold. The story was not attributed to any source and
dealers said the multi-lateral lender would not announce any
purchases via a third party.

Spot gold XAU= was at $1,107.05 an ounce by 0224 GMT, up
$2.35 from New York's notional close on Thursday -- still below
a a 1-month high of around $1,130 on Monday but about 6 percent
above a 3-month low struck in early February.

"Gold is really being driven a lot by the U.S. dollar in
the past day. I would have thought that if the IMF had made the
sale, they would have reported the fact," said David Moore,
commodities strategist at CBA in Sydney.

"I think at the moment, there are still underlying support
for gold. The interest rate environment in key economies still
remain favourable to gold," said Moore, referring to low
interest rates which lift bullion's safe-haven appeal.

Rough & Polished, a Moscow-based industry website, reported
China had "confirmed its decision to acquire 191.3 tonnes of
gold auctioned by the International Monetary Fund".

The report could not be verified by Reuters. The IMF has
said it would soon begin sales of 191.3 tonnes of gold to raise
cash for lending programmes, Traders have speculated Asian
central banks would be likely buyers. [ID:nSGE61H00R]

China, with about $1.6 trillion in reserves, is a producer
of gold and unlikely to buy the IMF supplies, the official
China Daily reported on Wednesday. [ID:nTOE61N01L]

The euro EUR= held ground above $1.3500, although dealers
said sentiment on the single currency is negative because of
debts problems in the euro zone. [USD/]

Investors turn their attention to U.S. economic reports on
fourth-quarter gross domestic product, consumer sentiment for
February and existing home sales for January, which could set
the tone for the dollar.

U.S. data of late has been on the softer side. On Thursday,
it showed core durable goods unexpectedly fell in January,
while applications for jobless benefits rose again last week,
putting pressure on the dollar. [ID:nN2597849]

Spot trading was muted in Asia, with dealers discounting
talk about China's purchase of the IMF gold.

"When you talk about the Chinese, they will buy spot gold
at the lower end, although I don't really see any fixed
pattern," said a trader in Singapore, who deals with trading
houses and banks in China.

"The euro has rebounded a bit, so that could be the reason
why gold is up now. But even if price goes up, it's still not
out of the range yet," said the dealer, referring to the tight
range of $1,100 and $1,130 an ounce.

U.S. gold futures for April delivery GCJO fell $1.6 an
ounce to $1,106.9, having settled 1 percent higher on Thursday.

The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR
Gold Trust (GLD), said its holdings stood at 1,106.987 tonnes
as of Feb. 25, unchanged from the previous business day.
[GOL/SPDR] U.S. crude futures steadied above $78 a barrel
on Friday as traders awaited a slew of U.S. data later in the
day to gauge the health of the economy of the world's largest
oil consumer nation. [O/R]
Precious metals prices at 0224 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 1107.05 2.35 +0.21 1.04
Spot Silver 16.11 0.07 +0.44 -4.28
Spot Platinum 1529.75 0.75 +0.05 4.28
Spot Palladium 421.75 1.75 +0.42 4.01
TOCOM Gold 3190.00 40.00 +1.27 -2.12
41456
TOCOM Platinum 4388.00 64.00 +1.48 0.16
10084
TOCOM Silver 47.00 0.90 +1.95 -9.09
455
TOCOM Palladium 1208.00 10.00 +0.83 3.69
64
Euro/Dollar 1.3572
Dollar/Yen 89.28
(Editing by Ed Lane)