RPT-PRECIOUS-Gold ticks up on Europe debt worries, gains limited

* Gold edges up in thin trade

* Dollar steady ahead of Fed meeting

* Coming Up: U.S. Fed interest rate statement; 1815 GMT
(Updates prices)

By Lewa Pardomuan

SINGAPORE, March 16 (Reuters) - Gold ticked up on Tuesday
on persistent worries about Europe's debt problems but some
investors were reluctant to take positions ahead of a meeting
of the U.S. Federal Reserve, which could squeeze the dollar.

Worries about a possible monetary tightening in China,
which could curb its appetite for industrial metals and cool
sentiment in global commodities markets, could also cap gains
as bullion struggled to revisit a 6-1/2-week high near $1,150
hit in early March.

Short covering, spurred by a firmer euro against the
dollar, as well as light buying from jewellers in Singapore and
Hong Kong, lifted gold prices to an intraday high of $1,113.50
an ounce but the choppy trade also reflected low volumes.

Spot gold XAU= was at $1,112.30 an ounce by 0604 GMT, up
$4.20 from New York's notional close on Monday, when it firmed
despite a stronger dollar and as sovereign credit worries
ignited safe-haven buying.

The credit ratings of the world's four largest triple-A
sovereign debt issuers as well as Spain are safe, but risks to
their blue-chip status have grown, Moody's Investors Service
said in a report on Monday. [ID:nLDE62B1T5]

"It's still in a very tight range but there's a little bit
of an upside, primarily on concerns about credit of the United
States, Britain, France and Germany," said Wong Eng Soon, an
investment analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore.

"Everybody is looking as to when China will tighten up. One
provides an upside, and the other provides the downside. In
that sense, it's quite balanced."

Premier Wen Jiabao said on Sunday that inflation, along
with income inequality and corruption, could upset social
stability and even undermine the power of the state if it got
out of hand. Consumer prices rose 2.7 percent in the year
to February, up from a 1.5 percent pace in January and flirting
with the government's 3 percent target for 2010.

U.S. gold futures for April delivery GCJ0 rose $8.0 an
ounce to $1,113.4 after ending slightly higher on Monday

The dollar slipped against the euro ahead of the Fed
meeting later on Tuesday, when the U.S. central bank is
expected to reiterate its vow to keep interest rates very low
for an "extended period". The euro was flat at $1.3675. [USD/]

"Gold's immediate trend would certainly depend on the
outcome of the Fed meeting and especially the wording," said
Pradeep Unni, senior analyst at Richcomm Global Services,
adding that bullion could fall if the Fed surprises the market
by indicating it will abandon the current policy to keep rates
low.

"The Fed's intentions would then be clear and the downward
spiral should begin for gold with momentum picking up below
$1,100."

The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR
Gold Trust (GLD), said its holdings stood at 1,115.511 tonnes
by March 15, unchanged from the previous business day.
[GOL/SPDR]

Oil steadied below $80 a barrel on Tuesday after a fall of
nearly 2 percent in the previous session, its biggest one-day
fall in more than two weeks, as the market awaits the outcome
of OPEC and central bank meetings. [O/R]
Precious metals prices at 0604 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 1112.30 4.20 +0.38 1.52
Spot Silver 17.19 0.14 +0.82 2.14
Spot Platinum 1622.00 1.50 +0.09 10.57
Spot Palladium 462.25 1.25 +0.27 14.00
TOCOM Gold 3233.00 4.00 +0.12 -0.80
28995
TOCOM Platinum 4683.00 29.00 +0.62 6.89
12620
TOCOM Silver 50.40 0.30 +0.60 -2.51
447
TOCOM Palladium 1334.00 5.00 +0.38 14.51
201
Euro/Dollar 1.3695
Dollar/Yen 90.08
(Additional reporting by Chikako Mogi in TOKYO)
(Editing by Clarence Fernandez)