PRECIOUS-Gold flat; weaker dollar, c.bank purchases support

SINGAPORE, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Gold traded flat on Thursday,
supported by central bank purchases of the precious metal and by
a weaker dollar as European leaders assured investors that a
deal on a bailout for Greece was imminent.

FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold was little changed at $1,729.14 an ounce
by 0030 GMT.
* U.S. gold traded flat at $1,729.70.
* But spot silver rose to $33.43, its highest in more
than a month
* Brazil, Kazakhstan and Turkey raised their official gold
holdings in October, while the euro area trimmed its gold
reserves, data from the International Monetary Fund showed.

* Though Greece's international lenders failed for the
second week to free up new aid for Greece, European leaders said
they were close to reaching a deal.
* U.S. manufacturing grew in November at its quickest pace
in five months, with a rise in domestic demand hinting that
factories could provide a boost to economic growth in the fourth
quarter.
* Israel and the Islamist Hamas movement ruling the Gaza
Strip agreed on Wednesday to an Egyptian-sponsored ceasefire to
halt an eight-day conflict that killed 162 Palestinians and five
Israelis.
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MARKET NEWS
* U.S. stocks finished modestly higher on Wednesday, with
the S&P 500 up for a fourth session, although volume was one of
the year's lowest on the day ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.

* The yen languished near eight-month lows versus the dollar
on Thursday as investors gave it a wide berth on expectations of
more policy action in Japan, while the revived hopes of a Greek
loan deal saw the euro stage a dramatic turnaround.

DATA/EVENTS
0145 China HSBC Mfg PMI Flash Nov
0758 France Markit Mfg Flash PMI Nov
0828 Germany Markit Mfg Flash PMI Nov
0858 Euro zone Markit Mfg flash PMI Nov
European Central Bank Governing Council meeting

PRICES

Precious metals prices 0030 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Volume
Spot Gold 1729.14 0.61 +0.04 10.57
Spot Silver 33.39 0.06 +0.18 20.59
Spot Platinum 1574.12 0.37 +0.02 13.00
Spot Palladium 642.40 0.90 +0.14 -1.55
COMEX GOLD DEC2 1729.70 1.50 +0.09 10.40 1325
COMEX SILVER DEC2 33.39 0.04 +0.12 19.61 613
Euro/Dollar 1.2851
Dollar/Yen 82.46
COMEX gold and silver contracts show the most active months

(Reporting by Rujun Shen; Editing by Joseph Radford)