SINGAPORE, March 13 (Reuters) - Gold ticked higher on
Tuesday as the euro rebounded although trading was cautious with
investors waiting for the outcome of a Federal Reserve meeting,
which could offer clues over the direction of interest rates in
the world's largest economy. 	
    Easing expectations for the Fed to signal the need for more
measures to keep interest rates low could eventually weigh on
gold, which has risen around 9 percent so far this year on a
near-zero U.S. rate outlook. 	
    Gold added $3.45 to $1,702.50 an ounce by 0707 GMT,  
  with support at the 200-day moving average of around $1,680 an
ounce. Bullion rallied to an all-time high around $1,920 an
ounce last September.	
    "I think everybody is staying on the sidelines. On the
investment side especially, people still try to keep more cash
on hand. They have no intention to buy a substantial amount of
gold right now," said Dick Poon, manager of precious metals at
Heraeus in Hong Kong.	
    "There's not much going on, especially on the physical
side," said Poon, adding that investors were also scrutinising
Europe's current efforts to solve the debt crisis. 	
    The euro bounced from a one-month low to $1.3167 on
Tuesday, finding support at its 55-day moving average around
$1.3081 as euro zone finance ministers gave their final approval
to a second bailout for Greece -- the source of the currency
bloc's debt crisis. 	
    But Tuesday's focus would be on the Fed's policy statement
after last week's data showed an encouraging gain of more than
200,000 jobs in February for a third straight month.  	
    Recent signs of improvement in the U.S. labour market are
spurring economists at major Wall Street firms to rethink how
aggressive the Fed needs to be in applying further monetary
stimulus, a Reuters poll showed. 	
    U.S. April gold rose $3.40 to $1,703.20 an ounce,
but some bullion investors were cautious after last week's U.S.
data showed net long futures positions held by money managers,
including hedge funds, posted the biggest one-week drop since
August.  	
    Against a basket of other currencies, the dollar hovered
just below a seven-week high on Tuesday, bolstered by
expectations a string of encouraging economic news should
persuade the Fed not to apply fresh stimulus, at least for now.
 	
    In theory, a softer dollar makes commodities priced in the
greenback cheaper for holders of other currencies.  	
    Physical gold trading also slowed to a trickle in Singapore,
where buyers such as Indonesia and Thailand waited for clues
from other markets ahead of the Fed meeting. 	
    "It's all about wait-and-see. I think we can expect to see
good physical demand if gold price falls below $1,700. On and
off, we are still seeing some buying, but it's not much," said a
dealer in Singapore. "Indonesia was a good buyer last week." 	
    In the stock market, the Nikkei ended up 0.1 percent higher
 at 9,899.08, while the MSCI's index of Asia Pacific
shares outside of Japan added 1.4 percent after
slipping on Monday due to concerns about a moderation in Chinese
demand. 	
   	
  Precious metals prices 0707 GMT
  Metal             Last    Change  Pct chg  YTD pct chg    Volume
  Spot Gold        1702.50    3.45   +0.20      8.87
  Spot Silver        33.66    0.08   +0.24     21.56
  Spot Platinum    1688.99    0.89   +0.05     21.25
  Spot Palladium    697.72    1.87   +0.27      6.93
  COMEX GOLD APR2  1703.20    3.40   +0.20      8.71        17693
  COMEX SILVER MAY2  33.69    0.28   +0.83     20.69         1681
  Euro/Dollar       1.3165
  Dollar/Yen         82.14
 

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