SINGAPORE, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Gold prices held steady
on Friday, after optimism that Greece may soon secure an
urgently needed bailout helped the metal recover from a one-week
low hit in the previous session.	

    FUNDAMENTALS	

    * Spot gold edged down 51 cents to $1,727.89 an ounce
by 0030 GMT, on course for a 0.5-percent weekly rise after two
weeks of straight losses. 	
    * U.S. gold was also little changed at $1,730.	

    * Hopes that Greece has finally done enough to secure a
bailout on Monday helped buoy appetite in the euro and equities.
  	
    * Encouraging U.S. labour, manufacturing and housing data
also helped boost sentiment in the financial markets.
 	
    * Industry group, the World Gold Council, believed that
China's central bank made significant gold purchases in the
final months of 2011, said the Financial Times, quoting a senior
official at the group. 	

    * Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc will
renegotiate its contract with the Indonesian government to run
Grasberg, the world's biggest gold mine and second-largest
copper mine, the energy ministry said on Thursday.

    * Spot silver was flat at $33.47, recovering from a
three-week low of $32.64 hit in the previous session.	
    * For the top stories on metals and other news, click
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    MARKET NEWS	

    * The S&P 500 hit a nine-month high on Thursday, fueled by
strong U.S. economic data and increased hopes for a deal on a
Greek bailout next week. 	

    * The euro clung to overnight gains in Asia on Friday,
having risen on hopes that Greece was close to clinching a
second bailout package, while improved risk appetite knocked the
yen lower across the board. 	

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