SINGAPORE, March 8 (Reuters) - Gold held onto the
previous session's gains on Thursday, while prices stayed above
the key 200-day moving average, as increased optimism Greece may
secure a crucial debt swap deal soothed worries about a messy
default.	
    	
    FUNDAMENTALS	
    * Spot gold was little changed at $1,684.92 an ounce
by 0044 GMT, standing above the 200-day moving average around
$1,678. Gold gained 0.6 percent on Wednesday following a
2-percent slide in the previous session.	
    * U.S. gold inched up 0.1 percent to $1,685.50.	
    * Fear about a Greek default eased as major banks and
pension funds said they would take part in Greece's bond swap
deal, raising the likelihood that Greece would secure a 130
billion euro international bailout. 	
    * Gold was also helped by a Wall Street Journal report that
the U.S. Federal Reserve officials are considering a novel
approach to bond buying aimed at countering inflation worries.
 	
    * Friday's U.S. non-farm payrolls data will be in focus, as
investors look for cues on whether the Fed will launch any
stimulus measures soon. 	
    * Data showed that U.S. companies increased their hiring in
February, shoring up expectations that the labour market's
recovery has moved into a higher gear. 	
    * The world's two largest platinum producers said on
Wednesday they were not affected by a 1-day nationwide strike in
South Africa that has brought the country's gold mines to a halt
and also hit the coal sector. 	
    * For the top stories on metals and other news, click
, or 	
    	
    MARKET NEWS	
    * The dollar was on the defensive in Asia on Thursday, while
the euro and commodity currencies saw some reprieve from this
week's battering as Greece's debt restructuring efforts looked
to have made some progress.  	
    * U.S. stocks broke a three-day losing streak on Wednesday,
recovering some recent losses after a report showed the U.S.
private sector added more jobs than expected last month. 	
    	
    DATA/EVENTS	
 1100  Germany   Industrial output mm     Jan 2012                 
 1200  Britain   BOE Bank Rate            Mar 2012                 
 1245  EZ        ECB rate decision        Mar 2012                 
 1400  Canada    BoC rate decision                                 
 1330  U.S.      Jobless claims           Weekly                  
    	
    PRICES	
     Precious metals prices 0044 GMT
  Metal             Last    Change  Pct chg  YTD pct chg    Volume
  Spot Gold        1684.92    0.16   +0.01      7.75
  Spot Silver        33.40    0.02   +0.06     20.62
  Spot Platinum    1632.99    7.50   +0.46     17.23
  Spot Palladium    684.22    3.42   +0.50      4.86
  COMEX GOLD APR2  1685.50    1.60   +0.10      7.58         2802
  COMEX SILVER MAY2  33.46   -0.13   -0.39     19.85          348
  Euro/Dollar       1.3143
  Dollar/Yen         81.26
  COMEX gold and silver contracts show the most active months
 	
 (Reporting by Rujun Shen; Editing by Himani Sarkar)

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