PRECIOUS-Gold little changed, ETF steady

TOKYO, July 28 (Reuters) - Gold was little changed on
Tuesday, trading above $950, after rising to its highest level
since mid-June the previous day when a decline in the dollar
prompted investors to seek higher risk.

* Platinum's rise to a near six-week high on Monday also
helped to support gold.

* Gold has mostly moved in a range of $945-$960 per ounce for
the past week with strong technical resistance towards the $960
level, last touched on June 11, and gains also capped by weak
physical demand.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Gold XAU= was at $953.85 an ounce at 0003 GMT, up about
0.1 percent from the notional close in New York of $952.65.

* U.S. gold futures for August delivery GCQ9 were at $953.6
an ounce, up about 0.01 percent.

* The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the
SPDR Gold Trust (GLD), said holdings stood at 1,086.61 tonnes as
of July 27, unchanged from the previous business day. [GOL/SPDR]

MARKET NEWS

* The dollar dropped to a more than seven-week low against
the euro on Monday as a jump in U.S. new-home sales bolstered the
market's appetite for riskier assets and dimmed the greenback's
safe-haven appeal. [USD/]

* U.S. stocks rose slightly on Monday in a late rally as
investors rotated into financial shares, which had lagged in the
recent two-week run up. [.N]

DATA EVENTS

* The following data is expected on Tuesday: ECON

- June French housing starts (0645 GMT)

- June Italy consumer confidence (0730 GMT)

- July UK CBI distributive trades (1000 GMT)

- Redbook weekly U.S. retail sales (1255 GMT)

- July U.S. conference board consumer confidence (1400 GMT)

RELATED NEWS
> Gold hits 6-½ week high as dollar weakens [GOL/]
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> Angloplat earnings dip; on track for output goal [ID:nLR76707]
> US June new home sales rate fastest in 8 years [ID:nN27522481]
PRICES

Precious metals prices at 2358 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg Day ago pct MA 30 RSI
Spot gold $953.95 $1.30 +0.14% +6.35% $860.10 72
Spot silver $14.01 $0.00 +0.00% +16.94% $11.29 75
Spot plat $1214.00 -$1.00 -0.08% +2.45% $1162.97 75
COMEX gold $954.30 $0.90 +0.09% +0.13% $934.94
TOCOM gold 2,926 6 +0.21% +0.62% 2,852 69
TOCOM plat 3,733 47 +1.28% +3.15% 3,556 71
Currencies
Euro/dlr $1.424 $0.000 +0.03% +0.20%
Dlr/yen 95.17 -0.01 -0.01% +0.34%
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)