Gold steady after drop; eyes greenback and Greece

* Gold firms, shrugs of mild dollar gains after sharp slide

* Greece debt, India rate hike worry

By Nick Trevethan

SINGAPORE, March 22 (Reuters) - Gold was steady on Monday as dollar strength that drove bullion 1.7 percent lower in the previous session, its biggest loss since early February, weighed on the market.

The dollar was steady versus the euro on Monday, having jumped on Friday on speculation that debt-laden Greece may have to turn to the International Monetary Fund for help, rather than its euro-zone neighbours, sending commodities sharply lower.

"Gold was hit pretty hard on Friday as the U.S. dollar strengthened. It depends on where the dollar goes and at the moment it is looking a bit bullish," said Peter McGuire, managing director of CWA Global Markets in Sydney.

"The market is very slow at the moment I don't see much happening until we get a clear idea on what is happening with the U.S. dollar. But it is not unusual to see it strengthen around Easter."

Spot gold XAU= rose 5 cent to $1,106.60 an ounce at 0358 GMT, trading just above its 30-day moving average. U.S. gold futures for April delivery GCJ0 on the COMEX division of the NYMEX stood at $1,107.3 versus $1,107.60 at Friday's close.

Markets were subdued with Japanese investors out for a national holiday. An increase in benchmark rates by India's central bank on Friday to tame inflation has also worked to keep gold prices in check. India is the world's largest buyer of gold.

The Reserve Bank of India increased the repo rate, the rate at which it lends to banks, to 5.00 percent and the reverse repo rate, the rate which it absorbs funds from the system, to 3.50 percent with immediate effect. [ID:nSGE62I0HP]

"The increase in Indian interest rates has weighed on gold. The price today is up from its Friday night lows even though the euro is softer again versus the dollar," David Moore, commodities strategist, Commonwealth Bank.

"We have spent quite a bit of time in the $1,100-$1,130 range recently. We are towards the bottom of that. My inclination is that the gold price will end the year lower, but it may spike higher supported by safe haven buying given the fiscal situation in certain countries." Prices at 0358 GMT Metal Last Change Pct chg Two day chg MA 30 RSI Spot gold $1106.60 $0.05 +0.00% -4.43% $1106.41 38 Spot silver $16.91 -$0.02 -0.12% -6.99% $16.30 58 Spot plat $1599.75 -$4.75 -0.30% -0.20% $1547.30 75 COMEX gold $1106.70 -$0.90 -0.08% -1.84% $1109.38 42 Currencies Euro/dlr $1.351 -$0.001 -0.07% -0.18% Dlr/yen 90.49 -0.04 -0.04% -0.04% (Additional reporting by Naveen Thukral; Editing by Ed Lane)