SINGAPORE, April 2 (Reuters) - Gold prices edged higher on
Monday on the first trading day of the quarter, benefiting from
a weaker dollar after China manufacturing data eased fears of a
hard landing and U.S. consumer data added to the hopes of a
solid recovery.	
    	
    FUNDAMENTALS	
    * Spot gold edged up 0.3 percent to $1,672.59 an
ounce by 0005 GMT, after staging a 6.6-percent rise in the first
quarter. 	
    * U.S. gold inched up 0.2 percent to $1,674.40.	
    * Over the weekend, China said its big factories were
surprisingly busy in March as a stream of new orders lifted
activity to an 11-month high, but credit-constrained smaller
manufacturers struggled, suggesting that the economy is still
losing steam. 	
    * U.S. consumer spending increased by the most in seven
months in February as households shook off a rise in gasoline
prices, leading economists to raise forecasts for first-quarter
growth. 	
    * Euro zone finance ministers agreed on Friday to increase
their financial firewall to 700 billion euros to ward off a new
flare-up of Europe's sovereign debt crisis, drawing a positive
initial reaction from G20 partners and markets. 	
    * Money managers, including hedge funds and other large
speculators, raised their bullish bets in gold for the first
time in four weeks as the price of bullion rallied to a two-week
high near $1,700 an ounce. 	
    * South Africa's government is to plough $420 million into a
public-private platinum venture with Pallinghurst Resources
 that has ambitions to become the world's third-largest
producer of the precious metal. 	
    * For the top stories on metals and other news, click
, or 	
    	
    MARKET NEWS	
    * U.S. stocks closed their strongest quarter in more than
two years on a positive note on Friday, led by recently
underperforming sectors, including energy and health care. 	
    *  The safe-haven yen eased on Monday, while commodity
currencies like the Australian dollar jumped after surprisingly
strong Chinese factory activity data eased fears about a hard
landing in the world's second biggest economy. 	
        	
    DATA/EVENTS	
 0500  India     HSBC Markit Mfg PMI      Mar 2012                 
 0743  Italy     Markit/ADACI Mfg PMI     Mar 2012                 
 0753  Germany   Markit/BME Mfg PMI       Mar 2012                 
 0758  EZ        Markit Mfg PMI           Mar 2012                 
 1400  U.S.      ISM Manufacturing PMI    Mar                      
 1400  U.S.      Construction spending    Feb                      
       Russia    HSBC Mfg PMI             Mar 2012                 
    	
    PRICES	
   	
 Precious metals prices 0005 GMT
  Metal             Last    Change  Pct chg  YTD pct chg    Volume
  Spot Gold        1672.59    4.69   +0.28      6.96
  Spot Silver        32.47    0.26   +0.81     17.26
  Spot Platinum    1639.74   -5.26   -0.32     17.71
  Spot Palladium    651.75    3.67   +0.57     -0.11
  COMEX GOLD JUN2  1674.40    2.50   +0.15      6.87         2627
  COMEX SILVER MAY2  32.47   -0.02   -0.06     16.30          573
  Euro/Dollar       1.3349
  Dollar/Yen         82.80
  COMEX gold and silver contracts show the most active months
 

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