PRECIOUS-Gold eases after records hit, ETF inches higher

TOKYO, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Gold eased on Wednesday as investors
took profits a day after it hit record highs despite the dollar's
strength, but sentiment improved on bullion's growing status as a
destination for a diversifying official reserves.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold XAU= was at $1,082 per ounce at 0000 GMT, down
0.2 percent from New York's notional close of $1,084.50. On
Tuesday, spot gold hit an all-time high of $1,087.45.

* U.S. gold futures for December delivery GCZ9 also inched
down 0.2 percent to $1,082.50 per ounce, compared to $1,084.90 an
ounce on the COMEX division of NYMEX. Futures hit a record high
of $1,088.50 on Tuesday.

* Gold swept to a record high despite the dollar's strength
as the International Monetary Fund's 200-tonne sale of gold to
India's central bank underscored gold's increasing status as an
official reserve and fuelled speculation that other governments,
including Beijing may be ready to diversify their reserves.

* The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR
Gold Trust (GLD: Quote, Profile, Research), said its holdings rose to 1,108.399 tonnes as
of Nov 3, up 4.88 tonnes or 0.4 percent from the previous
business day. [GOL/SPDR]

* Japanese financial markets were closed on Tuesday for a
public holiday.

MARKET NEWS

* The S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose slightly on Tuesday as news of
a major railroad acquisition helped sentiment, but the Dow edged
lower on caution before a Federal Reserve statement on interest
rates and the economy. [.N]

* The Fed announces its policy decision later on Wednesday.
[nFEDAHEAD]

* Nikkei average opened down 0.2 percent. [.T]

* The dollar steadied on Wednesday after climbing to a
one-month high against a basket of major currencies the previous
day when concerns about the global banking sector reignited
safe-haven demand for the greenback. [USD/]

* Gold market participants including banks, miners and
investment funds have gathered for the London Bullion Market
Association's annual conference in Edinburgh. [ID:nL2446307]

DATA EVENTS

* The following data is expected on Wednesday: ECON

- German services PMI for October. (0853 GMT)

- Euro zone services PMI for October. (0858 GMT)

- UK services PMI for October. (0928 GMT)

- Euro zone producer price index for September. (1000 GMT)

- Weekly U.S. mortgage market index. (1200 GMT)

- U.S. ADP employment report for October. (1315 GMT)

- U.S. ISM non-manufacturing for October. (1500 GMT)

- FOMC releases interest rate statement. (around 1915 GMT)

RELATED NEWS
>Gold sweeps to record high above $1,080 [GOL/]
>India buys half of IMF's gold for sale;who's next?[ID:nSP375900]
>U.S. factory orders rise, bolstering recovery [ID:nN03499628]
>Gold, commods rally with dollar in rate trend [ID:nN03511736]
>Barrick may close hedgebook ahead of plan [ID:nL2208871]
>LBMA delegates see gold at $1,181.30/oz in 12 mths[ID:nL3364734]

PRICES

Precious metals prices at 2355 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg Day ago pct MA 30 RSI
Spot gold $1082.85 -$1.65 -0.15% +20.72% $860.10 72
Spot silver $17.16 -$0.04 -0.23% +43.24% $11.29 55
Spot plat $1354.00 -$1.50 -0.11% +1.61% $1334.37 59
COMEX gold $1085.50 $44.60 +4.28% +5.16% $1034.97 73
TOCOM gold 3,068 29 +0.95% +0.29% 3,029 52
TOCOM plat 3,868 34 +0.89% +0.21% 3,862 45
Currencies
Euro/dlr $1.472 $0.001 +0.06% -0.30%
Dlr/yen 90.38 0.08 +0.09% +0.06%
(Reporting by Chikako Mogi)