SINGAPORE, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Gold traded steady on
Tuesday after posting modest losses in the previous session,
tracking a pullback in oil prices, while sentiment is supported
ahead of a major cash injection action from the European Central
Bank later this week.	
    	
    FUNDAMENTALS	
    * Spot gold was little changed at $1,767.14 an ounce
by 0034 GMT. U.S. gold inched down 0.3 percent to
$1,768.80.	
    * Banks will guzzle another half a trillion euros of cheap
three-year loans offered by the European Central Bank on
Wednesday, according to a Reuters poll of money market traders,
who said the opportunity would be the last of its kind.
 	
    * The first 3-year funding operation by the ECB late last
year flooded the market with 489 billion euros of ultra-cheap
cash and helped avert a credit crunch in the region.
 	
    * U.S. crude oil futures extended losses, after overbought
conditions and a warning from G20 officials about the impact of
higher oil prices on global growth prompted investors to book
profits, and ended a seven-day winning run in the previous
session. 	
    * Standard & Poor's on Monday cut Greece long-term ratings
to "selective default", the second ratings agency to proceed
with a widely expected downgrade after the country announced a
bond swap plan to lighten its debt burden. 	
    * The U.S. economy continued to show signs of recovery.
Pending homes sales neared a two-year high in January, an
industry group said on Monday, further evidence the housing
market was slowly turning the corner. 	
    * South Africa's National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) urged
its members on Monday to accept an offer by Impala Platinum
 to rehire miners at its Rustenburg operation, the scene
of a violent, illegal strike that has pushed platinum prices
higher. 	
    * For the top stories on metals and other news, click
, or 	
    	
    MARKET NEWS	
    * The euro nursed modest losses in Asia on Tuesday, while
the yen held on to overnight gains ahead of another flood of
cheap cash from the European Central Bank that could bolster
risk appetite and put the yen under pressure again. 	
    * The benchmark S&P 500 closed at its highest level since
mid-2008 on Monday, extending gains for a third session as oil
prices retreated after a recent rally and data showed further
improvement in the U.S. housing market.

• Gold, silver rally as Fed’s Powell leans a bit dovish   (2024-03-07 05:26:21)
• Gold, silver rally as Federal Reserve leans surprisingly easy   (2023-12-15 06:28:18)
• Wall Street and main street see continued gains for gold prices   (2023-12-03 04:08:06)
• Focus Gold prices below $2,000, but seasonals remain favorable   (2023-11-24 05:24:28)
• Retail investors bullish on gold, but Wall Street analysts shift into neutral   (2023-11-18 07:12:10)
• Gold, silver rally after tamer U.S. CPI hammers USDX, Treasury yields   (2023-11-15 05:35:06)
• Vàng chịu áp lực bán kỹ thuật, dầu thô giảm   (2023-11-09 06:48:37)
• Gold pressured on technical selling, drop in crude oil   (2023-11-09 06:47:13)
• Wall Street analysts see virtually no downside for gold prices, retail investors maintain bullish outlook   (2023-11-04 06:13:43)
• Bullish outside markets mildly support gold; U.S. jobs data on deck   (2023-11-03 06:13:17)