Gold steady near $1,125, Fed meeting eyed

TOKYO, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Gold prices were flat at around $1,125 per ounce on Wednesday ahead of the conclusion of the U.S. Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting, which could provide clues about the timing of interest rate moves.

FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= was at $1,124.70 per ounce at 2357 GMT, up 0.03 percent from New York's notional close of $1,124.40.

* It is now trading about 8 percent below a record high of $1,226.10 hit on Dec. 3, due to liquidation.

* U.S. gold futures for February delivery GCG0 inched up 0.3 percent to $1,126 an ounce on the COMEX division of the NYMEX.

* Futures were off some $100 from their record high $1,227.50 hit on Dec. 3.

* The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust (GLD), said its holdings stood at 1,116.551 tonnes as of Dec. 15, unchanged from the previous business day. [GOL/SPDR]

MARKET NEWS
* U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday, with the Dow and S&P 500 moving off 14-month highs, as a climb in producer prices raised inflation concerns and economic bellwether General Electric (GE.N) issued a flat outlook for 2010. [.N]

* The dollar climbed broadly on Tuesday, touching a 2-½ month peak against the euro, as stronger U.S. inflation data suggested the Federal Reserve could at least contemplate raising interest rates sooner than investors anticipate. [USD/]

* Oil prices rose for the first day in 10 on Tuesday, moving above $70 a barrel as traders bet that government data will show U.S. crude inventories fell last week. [O/]

DATA EVENTS
* The following data is expected on Wednesday: ECON
- Australia Q3 GDP yr/yr (0030 GMT)
- Euro zone flash PMI for December (0858 GMT)
- UK ILO unemployment for October (0930 GMT)
- UK employment claimant count for November (0930 GMT)
- Euro zone inflation for November (1000 GMT)
- ECB announces results of 1-year REFI operation (1015 GMT)
- Weekly U.S. mortgage market index (1200 GMT)
- Norges Bank policy announcement (1300 GMT)
- U.S. CPI/core CPI for November (1330 GMT)
- U.S. housing starts/building permits, November (1330 GMT)
- U.S. current account for Q3 (1330 GMT)
- U.S. real earnings for November (1330 GMT)
- FOMC releases interest rate statement (1915 GMT)

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PRICES

Precious metals prices at 2354 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg Day ago pct MA 30 RSI
Spot gold $1124.75 $0.35 +0.03% -2.86% $1144.12 36
Spot silver $17.37 -$0.04 -0.23% -4.46% $18.05 34
Spot plat $1447.00 $1.50 +0.10% -0.07% $1426.57 55
COMEX gold $1126.00 $2.20 +0.20% +0.54% $1142.27 37
TOCOM gold 3,225 4 +0.12% +0.09% 3,287
TOCOM plat 4,135 -12 -0.29% +0.71% 4,095
Currencies
Euro/dlr $1.454 $0.001 +0.05% -0.78%
Dlr/yen 89.52 -0.10 -0.11% +1.05%
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)

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