PRECIOUS-Platinum, palladium near multi-month highs; dollar weighs
SINGAPORE, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Platinum and palladium held steady on Tuesday after strong U.S. car sales data and supply concerns pushed prices to multi-month highs a day earlier, while gold clung to recent ranges as renewed concerns on the euro zone's recovery boosted the dollar.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold traded little changed at $1,673.11 an ounce by 0031 GMT. It has been trapped in a range roughly between $1,660 and $1,680 since Jan. 30.
* U.S. gold inched down 0.1 percent to $1,674.20.
* Spot platinum was nearly flat at $1,692.99, holding near a four-month high of $1,705.25 hit in the previous session. Spot palladium edged down 0.1 percent to $754.47, easing from a 17-month high of $759.75 hit on Monday.
* Anglo American Platinum, the world's largest platinum producer, said it made its first annual loss last year and warned of growing labour unrest as it cuts back operations in an attempt to restore profit.
* Worries about the euro zone resurfaced, as Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy faced called to resign over a corruption scandal while in Italy the growing popularity of former premier Silvio Berlusconi was a worry for investors in the run-up to elections this month.
* Investors will watch a policy meeting at the European Central Bank later in the week, though economists expect little change in the bank's stance.
* The dollar index inched up, building on a 0.4 percent rise on Monday, its biggest daily rise in more than two weeks.
* A gauge of U.S. business investment plans dropped in December, a possible sign companies were losing confidence in the economy's strength due to fears over tighter fiscal policy.
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MARKET NEWS
* U.S. stocks slid on Monday, giving the S&P 500 its worst day since November, as renewed worries about the euro zone crisis caused the market to pull back from recent gains.
* A week-old rally in the euro came to a halt on Tuesday as investors took profits on its stellar gains in the run-up to this week's European Central Bank policy meeting, just as selling pressure on the yen eased off slightly.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0145 China HSBC Services PMI
0330 Australia RBA cash rate
0848 France Markit Services PMI 0853 Germany Markit Services PMI
0858 Euro zone Markit Services PMI 1000 Euro zone Retail sales
1245 U.S. ICSC weekly chain store sales 1355 U.S. Redbook weekly retail sales 1500 U.S. ISM Non-manufacturing PMI 1500 U.S. IBD economic optimism index
PRICES
Precious metals prices 0031 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Volume Spot Gold 1673.11 -0.89 -0.05 -0.09 Spot Silver 31.70 -0.02 -0.06 4.69 Spot Platinum 1692.99 0.25 +0.01 10.29 Spot Palladium 754.47 -0.75 -0.10 9.03 COMEX GOLD APR3 1674.20 -2.20 -0.13 -0.10 1490 COMEX SILVER MAR3 31.72 0.00 +0.01 4.93 183 Euro/Dollar 1.3509 Dollar/Yen 92.30
COMEX gold and silver contracts show the most active months
(Reporting by Rujun Shen; Editing by Ed Davies)