PRECIOUS-Gold perched around $1,655 before Fed speech

SINGAPORE, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Gold was trapped in a tight
range on Thursday ahead of a speech from U.S. Federal Reserve
Chairman Ben Bernanke this week, which could stoke expectations
for a third round of quantitative easing to stimulate the
economy.

FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold was little changed at $1,655.64 an ounce
by 0024 GMT -- not far from 4-1/2 month high of $1,676.45 hit on
Monday.
* Bernanke will keep markets guessing about the timing of
another round of bond purchases when he speaks on Friday in
Jackson Hole, but he is likely to sustain expectations for
action of some kind next month.
* U.S. gold slipped 0.26 percent to $1,658.60 an
ounce.
* Holdings of the largest gold-backed exchange-traded-fund
(ETF), New York's SPDR Gold Trust GLD, and that of the
silver-backed ETF, New York's iShares Silver Trust SLV, remained
unchanged on Wednesday from Tuesday.
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MARKET NEWS
* The euro started Asian trade in familiar ranges on
Thursday as key risk events including the Jackson Hole meeting
of central bankers loomed, but investors continued to give
commodity currencies a wide berth.
* U.S. crude futures extended declines to a second day on
Thursday as Hurricane Isaac was downgraded to a tropical storm,
bolstering speculation by traders that damage to oil facilities
from Hurricane Isaac will be limited.
* Indian gold importers took to the sidelines on Wednesday,
seeking price direction during the ongoing wedding and festive
season as prices stayed steady near its peak.

DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0755 - Germany unemployment report for August
0900 - Euro zone economic sentiment index for August
1230 - U.S. personal income/spending for July

PRICES

Precious metals prices 0024 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Volume
Spot Gold 1655.64 -0.30 -0.02 5.87
Spot Silver 30.72 0.04 +0.13 10.94
Spot Platinum 1517.25 6.75 +0.45 8.92
Spot Palladium 629.50 1.60 +0.25 -3.52
COMEX GOLD DEC2 1658.60 -4.40 -0.26 5.86 1261
COMEX SILVER SEP2 30.72 -0.12 -0.40 10.03 673
Euro/Dollar 1.2532
Dollar/Yen 78.70

COMEX gold and silver contracts show the most active months

(Reporting by Lewa Pardomuan; Editing by Ed Davies)