Aug 23 (Reuters) - Gold held steady early on Tuesday after hitting a two-week low in the previous session as the market waits for more clues from the U.S. Federal Reserve later this week on whether it will raise rates this year.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= was nearly unchanged at $1,338.70 an ounce at 0107 GMT.
* U.S. gold GCcv1 too was flat at $1,342.70 an ounce.
* Amid conflicting signals from the Fed in recent days, central bankers from around the world will gather from Aug. 25 for an annual meeting in the mountains of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, with Fed chair Janet Yellen due to speak the following day. [ The Bank of Japan's near doubling of its purchases of Tokyo shares is causing investors to worry the central bank will dominate financial markets, which could lead to price distortions as it continues to grease the economy. The dollar shed 0.2 percent to 100.120 JPY= against the safe-haven yen amid a pullback in Tokyo stocks. The dollar index .DXY , which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, slipped 0.1 percent at 94.466.
* New Zealand's central bank said on Tuesday its current interest rate track involves further cuts to balance a number of risks while generating an increase in consumer price index inflation. Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust GLD , the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, rose 0.25 percent to 958.37 tonnes on Monday. GOL/ETF
* Platinum bullion coins sales in the first half (H1) of 2016 rose by 48 percent year-on-year to total 34,820 ounces, the highest H1 sales since 2001, according to the GFMS quarterly coin survey.
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TOP/MTL or GOL
MARKET REPORT
* Asia shares inched ahead while the dollar slipped on Tuesday as a dearth of major data left markets with little to do. MKTS/GLOB
DATA AHEAD (GMT)
0700 France Markit manufacturing PMI flash August
0730 Germany Markit manufacturing PMI flash August
0800 Euro zone Markit manufacturing PMI flash August
0800 Euro zone Markit services PMI flash August
1345 U.S. Markit manufacturing PMI flash August
1400 Euro zone Consumer confidence flash August
1400 U.S. New home sales July