PRECIOUS-Gold inches up but stronger dollar caps gains
SINGAPORE, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Gold edged up on Tuesday to extend slight gains from the previous session, but prices were capped as the U.S. dollar rose to a more than one-month high against other currencies.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold had climbed 0.2 percent to $1,612.90 an ounce by 0029 GMT, off a six-month low of $1,598.04 hit late last week.
* U.S. gold was also up 0.2 percent at $1,612.90.
* European Central Bank President Mario Draghi sought to take the heat out of a debate about currency wars on Monday but said the ECB would still have to assess the economic impact of the euro's strength.
* A few Bank of Japan board members said extending the duration of government bonds purchased under the BOJ's asset-buying programme to around five years could be an option for the central bank, minutes of its policy-setting meeting in January showed on Tuesday.
* Investors will closely read the minutes from the latest policy meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve, due Wednesday, which could shed light on that central bank's attitude to monetary stimulus, which was a key driver behind gold's rally in recent years.
* India's government may further raise import duties on gold or put a cap on purchases in a bid to rein in the current account deficit in the 2013/14 budget, an official with the biggest state-run gold importer said on Monday.
* South African police said on Monday that at least 13 people were injured, including four security guards who were hacked by machetes, in a labour fight at a mine of Anglo American Platinum, the world's top platinum producer.
* Iran criticised on Monday a reported plan by major powers to demand the closure of a uranium enrichment plant in return for an easing of sanctions on Tehran's trade in gold and other precious metals, Iranian media reported.
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MARKET NEWS
* The dollar index rose to its highest level in more than one month, while the yen hovered near a one-week low against the dollar hit in the previous session after Japan signalled it would push ahead with expansionist monetary policies.
* Tokyo's Nikkei share average opened lower on Tuesday, after rising more than 2 percent and approaching a four-year high in the previous session.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
1000 Germany ZEW economic sentiment 1500 U.S. NAHB housing market index
PRICES
Precious metals prices 0029 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Volume Spot Gold 1612.90 3.35 +0.21 -3.68 Spot Silver 30.02 0.18 +0.60 -0.86 Spot Platinum 1690.99 -1.01 -0.06 10.16 Spot Palladium 761.00 0.00 +0.00 9.97 COMEX GOLD APR3 1612.90 3.40 +0.21 -3.75 67303 COMEX SILVER MAR3 30.02 0.17 +0.56 -0.71 18254 Euro/Dollar 1.3343 Dollar/Yen 93.73
COMEX gold and silver contracts show the most active months
(Reporting by Rujun Shen; Editing by Joseph Radford)