SINGAPORE, March 2 (Reuters) - Gold edged higher on
Friday as buyers trickled back to the market, drawn by this
week's plunge of 5 percent, although bullion is still looking at
its worst week since December after Wednesday's sell-off.	
    	
    FUNDAMENTALS	
    * Spot gold edged up 0.2 percent to $1,720.55 an
ounce by 0040 GMT, on course for a weekly decline of 3.4
percent, its biggest one-week fall since mid-December.	
    * U.S. gold was flat at $1,722.20.	
    * U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and other top
central bank officials highlighted risks to the economic
recovery despite recent signs of strength, but offered few hints
that any additional monetary stimulus might be needed.
 	
    * On Wednesday bullion prices tumbled 5 percent as Bernanke
refrained from signaling further bond purchases, which had been
one of the drivers sending gold prices up 10 percent so far this
year.	
    * Prospects for a sustained global economic recovery dimmed
on Thursday as manufacturing cooled in the United States and
European factories sputtered at a time when central banks are
running out of policy options.  	
    * Holdings in gold-backed exchange-traded funds gained
238,674 ounces to a record high of 70.76 million ounces,
suggesting investors remained keen in gold. 	
    * Supporting sentiment in platinum group metals, U.S. auto
sales rose nearly 16 percent in February and annual sales rate
leapt to its best level in four years. 	
    * For the top stories on metals and other news, click
, or 	
    	
    MARKET NEWS	
    * U.S. stocks rose on Thursday, moving back to 2008 highs,
after a jump in bank shares and further upbeat data on the labor
market, though sharp gains in oil prices limited the advance.
 	
    * The euro was on the backfoot in Asia on Friday, having
fallen to one-week lows against the greenback and other
currencies in a move seen likely to continue after this week's
massive cash injection by the European Central Bank. 	
    * U.S. crude futures traded steady on Friday, off a near
10-month high in post-settlement trade after a Saudi official
was reported to have denied Iranian media pointing to an
explosion at an unknown oil pipeline in Saudi Arabia. 	
       	
    DATA/EVENTS	
 0700  Germany   Retail sales yy real     Jan 2012                
 1000  Euro zone PPI                      Jan
    	
    PRICES	
     Precious metals prices 0040 GMT
  Metal             Last    Change  Pct chg  YTD pct chg    Volume
  Spot Gold        1720.55    3.19   +0.19     10.02
  Spot Silver        35.44    0.00   +0.00     27.99
  Spot Platinum    1704.00    7.76   +0.46     22.33
  Spot Palladium    711.22   -3.35   -0.47      9.00
  COMEX GOLD APR2  1722.20    0.00   +0.00      9.92         2582
  COMEX SILVER MAY2  35.52   -0.14   -0.40     27.24          389
  Euro/Dollar       1.3327
  Dollar/Yen         81.25

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