SINGAPORE, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Spot gold edged lower on
Monday, extending losses in the previous session on the mass
downgrade of euro zone nations by ratings agency Standard &
Poor's, which fueled worries about the bloc's ability to contain
its debt crisis.	
    	
    FUNDAMENTALS	
    * Spot gold inched down 0.3 percent to $1,634.94 an
ounce by 0018 GMT, after losing 0.7 percent on Friday. Prices
returned to below the 200-day moving average at $1,637.89, seen
as a key resistance. 	
    * U.S. gold gained 0.3 percent to $1,636.10.	
    * Standard & Poor's downgraded the credit ratings of nine
euro- zone countries, stripping France and Austria of their
coveted triple-A status but not EU paymaster Germany, in a Black
Friday the 13th for the troubled single currency area.
 	
    * Investors will continue to watch the negotiations between
Greece and its creditor banks on a voluntary debt exchange deal
this week, after talks stalled last week amid pessimism.
 	
    * Gold jewellery demand in India, a major global market, is
estimated to have risen 5 to 7 percent in 2011 and is set to
grow a further 10 to 15 percent this year with bullion prices
falling back after recent gains, the head of India's biggest
jewellery retailer said on Sunday.  	
    * Managed money in gold futures and options slightly cut
bullish exposure during the week of Jan. 10, even as the price
of the precious metal climbed in the period, the U.S. Commodity
Futures Trading Commission said. 	
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    MARKET NEWS	
    * U.S. stocks dropped on Friday, snapping a four-day winning
streak, after news reports that Standard & Poor's would
downgrade credit ratings on several euro-zone countries. 	
    * The euro eased in early Asian trade on Monday and looked
set to stay under pressure after Standard & Poor's mass
downgrade of euro zone countries late last week, including
France, dealt the region another setback. 	
    	
    DATA/EVENTS (GMT)	
 0500 Japan    Consumer confidence         Dec
 0700 Germany  Wholesale prices            Dec
 0900 Italy    Final consumer prices       Dec
 1130 France   Finance Minister Francois Baroin speaks
    	
    PRICES	
   	
 Precious metals prices 0018 GMT
  Metal             Last    Change  Pct chg  YTD pct chg    Volume
  Spot Gold        1634.94   -4.58   -0.28      4.55
  Spot Silver        29.71   -0.01   -0.03      7.30
  Spot Platinum    1475.99   -4.01   -0.27      5.96
  Spot Palladium    631.47    5.47   +0.87     -3.22
  COMEX GOLD FEB2  1636.10    5.30   +0.32      4.42         1437
  COMEX SILVER MAR2  29.75    0.23   +0.77      6.57          258
  Euro/Dollar       1.2646
  Dollar/Yen         76.89
  COMEX gold and silver contracts show the most active months 

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