Jan 20 (Reuters) - Gold traded in a tight range on Monday as
strong U.S. economic data fuelled investors' appetite for
riskier assets and dented the metal's safe-haven appeal.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= ticked up 0.1% to $1,558.47 per ounce by
0134 GMT, after a near 0.4% drop last week. U.S. gold futures
GCv1 were down 0.1% to $1,558.10.
* Asian stocks surged close to a 20-month high, supported by
an extended rally in global stocks on Wall Street and solid U.S.
economic data. MKTS/GLOB
* U.S. homebuilding surged to a 13-year high last month as
activity increased across the board, while production at
factories increased for a second straight month, data showed on
Friday. * U.S. President Donald Trump sought on Sunday to assure
American farmers and ranchers hit by a protracted tariff war
with China that a trade agreement he signed with Beijing will
lead to major purchases of U.S. agricultural products.
* Chinese Vice Premier Liu He said Beijing and Washington
signing the Phase 1 deal had created a beneficial condition for
future Sino-U.S. relations, according to a state media Xinhua
report. * Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Patrick Harker
said on Friday that a robust labour market was boosting consumer
confidence and lifting the U.S. economy, despite headwinds such
as a global slowdown and trade uncertainty. * The Turkish central bank said on Saturday it had decreased
the upper limit of holding standard gold to 20% from 30% of lira
reserve requirements in a move to support financial stability
and bring out gold savings into the economy. * Speculators cut their bullish positions in COMEX gold
contracts in the week to Jan. 14, data showed. CFTC/
* Holdings of the world's largest gold-backed
exchange-traded fund SPDR Gold Trust GLD rose 2.20% to 898.82
tonnes on Friday. GOL/ETF
* Physical gold purchases gathered steam ahead of the Lunar
New Year celebrations in China and Singapore, while demand in
India dwindled last week, encouraging retailers to offer more
discounts. GOL/AS
* Palladium XPD= was flat at $2,479.73 an ounce. The
auto-catalyst metal hit a record high of $2,537.06 on Friday.
* A squeeze in ready availability of automotive metal
palladium has driven up already record-high prices by 25% in
just two weeks, accelerating a four-year rally and stoking
expectations for further gains, analysts said. * Silver XAG= edged higher by 0.2% to $18.03 per ounce,
while platinum XPT= rose 0.6% to $1,023.55.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0700 Germany Producer prices MM, YY Dec
-- Japan Bank of Japan holds monetary policy meeting