SINGAPORE, March 23 (Reuters) - Gold prices edged up on
Friday, after hitting a two-month low in the previous session on
global growth concerns triggered by weak manufacturing data from
both China and the euro zone.	
    	
    FUNDAMENTALS	
    * Spot gold edged up 0.1 percent to $1,646.89 an
ounce by 0031 GMT, on course for its fourth consecutive week of
losses with a 0.4-percent decline.	
    * U.S. gold gained 0.3 percent to $1,647.	
    * Worries about faltering global growth hit equities and
commodities after weak data on manufacturing activity in China
and the euro zone.  	
    * Weighing on market sentiment, SPDR Gold Trust, the
world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its
holdings fell 0.59 percent, or 7.553 tonnes, to 1,282.69 tonnes
on Thursday. It was the biggest one-day drop in tonnage terms in
three months. 	
    * The number of Americans claiming new unemployment benefits
dropped to a four-year low last week, bolstering hopes a recent
pick-up in job growth will prove lasting.  	
    * U.S. Treasury debt prices rose on Thursday, retracing some
of their recent losses, as a decline in manufacturing in China
and the euro zone's two largest economies raised demand for
safe-haven assets including government debt. 	
    * For the top stories on metals and other news, click
, or 	
    	
    MARKET NEWS	
    * Cyclical sectors led U.S. stocks lower on Thursday,
setting the S&P 500 up for its first negative week in six, after
factory data showed a slowdown in both the euro zone and China.
 	
    * The safe-haven yen held on to overnight gains in Asia on
Friday, having risen across the board as investors gave risk
currencies like the Australian dollar a wide berth on worries
about the health of the global economy. 	
    	
    DATA/EVENTS	
 1400  U.S.   New Home Sales              Feb                      
 1930  U.S.   CFTC commitment of traders  Weekly                  
    	
    PRICES	
    	
     Precious metals prices 0031 GMT
  Metal             Last    Change  Pct chg  YTD pct chg    Volume
  Spot Gold        1646.89    2.01   +0.12      5.31
  Spot Silver        31.62    0.07   +0.22     14.19
  Spot Platinum    1627.69   13.64   +0.85     16.85
  Spot Palladium    655.67    6.92   +1.07      0.49
  COMEX GOLD APR2  1647.00    4.50   +0.27      5.12         2530
  COMEX SILVER MAY2  31.65    0.30   +0.96     13.36          937
  Euro/Dollar       1.3207
  Dollar/Yen         82.67

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