SINGAPORE, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Gold hovered unchanged
at around $1,730 an ounce on Friday in cautious trade as euro
zone finance ministers held off on approving a bailout package
for Greece even after it said it had clinched a deal on economic
reforms.	
    Even a cut in the metal's trading margins by the biggest
operator of U.S. futures exchanges, the CME Group, failed to
spark the enthusiasm of sidelined investors, and kept spot gold
 prices little changed at $1,732.34 an ounce by 0315 GMT,
after two straight days of losses.	
    U.S. gold edged down 0.3 percent to $1,735.40.	
    "Many are still standing on the side waiting for something
new to happen in the market," said Peter Fung, head of dealing
at Wing Fung Precious Metals in Hong Kong.	
    "COMEX cut margins probably because the market volatility
was low and people didn't have much interest," he added.	
    Gold prices have been heavily influenced by the grinding
process of getting Greece to agree to reforms and austerity
measures in exchange for a bailout from its international
lenders. 	
    Market participants expect gold to be trapped in a range of
between $1,710 and $1,760 in the absence of a fundamental shift
in sentiment.	
    The CME Group on Thursday lowered trading margins
for a range of commodities contracts, including gold, silver and
platinum, effective after the close of business on Monday. This
is the first margin cut for COMEX gold since June 2011.
  	
    Technical analysis suggested spot gold could fall to $1,698
during the day, said Reuters market analyst Wang Tao.
 	
    	
    SPDR Gold Trust, the world's biggest gold-backed
exchange-traded fund, reported that its holdings increased to
1,278.344 tonnes by Feb. 9, the highest level since late
December, showing investment demand in bullion remained steady
as the murky economic outlook supported safe-haven interest.	
    The total amount of gold held by gold ETFs was little
changed from a week earlier, after four weeks of gains.
 	
    Spot platinum edged down 0.1 percent to $1,649.74,
headed for a 2-percent weekly rise. An 18-percent year-to-date
rise helped platinum narrow its discount to gold to near $70
earlier this week, its lowest in more than four months.	
    Concerns about supply shortfalls in South Africa, the
world's top producer of the metal, may continue to support
platinum prices and lower its discount to gold, analysts said.
 	

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