Gold steadied at around $1 200 an ounce on Tuesday, with support from physical buying as investors became cautious ahead of the United States corporate earnings season and the dollar rose. "A bit of a mixed start to the day with gold holding around $1 200," said James Moore, analyst at The BullionDesk.com. "The euro is a little bit softer ... gold is looking fairly range bound (but) we've got good support from physical and some investment players." "We are looking to straddle $1 200 for a little while, and maybe get a clearer indication of where we go, once we've got earnings data out of the way." Holdings by the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust, rose for the first time since late June. "It still suggests that investment diversification is going on," said Moore. "There are still concerns about the debt situation and broader economic picture -- and obviously gold is still very much an important asset to hold within a portfolio to provide a broad base." PRICES * Spot gold was at $1 197.70 at 08:38 SA time compared with $1 194.85 late in New York on Monday. * Silver was at $17.82 from $17.86. * Platinum at $1 504.65 from $1 512.00. * Palladium at $453 from $452.00. DATA/EVENTS * UK CPI for June at 10:30 SA time. * German Zew for July at 11am SA time. * ICSC/Goldman Sachs weekly US chain store sales at 13:45 SA time. * US international trade for May at 14:30 SA time. * Redbook weekly US retail sales at 14:30 SA time. * US federal budget for June at 20:00 SA time. * ABC US weekly consumer comfort index at 22:00 SA time. * UK nationwide consumer confidence. MARKET NEWS * Chinese stocks fell 2 percent on Tuesday on reports that Beijing will not relax tougher property measures any time soon, weighing on the Australian dollar and curbing early gains in Asian shares. * The euro consolidated well below two-month peaks against the dollar on Tuesday as investors hesitated to go long on the single currency and risk large short dollar positions during the US earnings season. * Oil retreated on Tuesday to stay below $75, tracking Asian equities lower and on forecasts for a seventh straight weekly gain in distillate fuel inventories at top consumer the United States. * Caution prevailed in the US stock market on Monday, with indexes edging higher as investors kept bets to a minimum in front of earnings. FUNDAMENTALS * With gold prices holding close to record-high levels, Toronto-Dominion Bank has hired veteran metals executive Tim Gardiner to launch a precious metals trading team. * The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the SPDR Gold Trust, said holdings rose to 1,314.819 tonnes as of Monday, up 0.304 tonnes from the previous business day. * Canada's Scorpio Mining Corp said it expects to meet its third quarter production target after resuming full operations at its Nuestra Senora mill facility in Sinaloa State, Mexico. * Banks are expanding in Asia's commodity and energy sectors at a rapid clip, drawn by the region's faster growth rates and lightly regulated markets, and will rev up the drive further in coming months. * Canada's Great Panther Silver Ltd reported higher second-quarter production and said new equipment delivered in the first half of the year would lead to a significant increase in output in the latter half of the year. TECHNICALS * Gold support at $1 185, resistance at $1 218, RSI 14 at 40.7. * Silver support $17.50, resistance $18.24, RSI 14 at 39.8. * Platinum support $1 487, resistance $1 536, RSI 14 at 35.3. - Reuters

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