MELBOURNE, March 23 (Reuters) - Spot gold was steady on Wednesday, with the impact of a stronger dollar offsetting a slight swell in the metal's safe-haven appeal after the bomb attacks in Belgium.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= was trading flat at $1,248.20 an ounce by 0034 GMT, with trade expected to wind down ahead of the Easter holiday which starts on Friday. Prices have been trading in a narrowing band of $1,240-$1,270 for the past week.
* U.S. gold GCcv1 was also flat at $1,248.90.
* The U.S. central bank has become so cautious about raising interest rates at even a moderate pace that the once-fringe preference of one of its most dovish policymakers for super-slow interest-rate increases has gone mainstream. Venezuela exported about 443 million Swiss francs ($456 million) worth of gold to Switzerland in February, data showed on Tuesday, as the South American country's central bank carried out swaps to receive cash due to a biting economic crisis.
* The arrest of an Iranian gold trader whom Turkish prosecutors placed at the heart of a Turkish government graft scandal two years ago hit shares in a state-run bank on Tuesday and raised opposition hopes that new light would be shed on a case it said was covered up. Switzerland became a net importer of platinum once again in February, data from the Swiss customs bureau showed on Tuesday, as shipments from major producer South Africa ticked up.
* Platinum XPT= traded up 0.5 percent at $993.55, while palladium XPD= was little changed at $602.65.
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MARKET NEWS
* Global equity markets were little changed, regrouping from early losses while government bonds eased from higher levels on Tuesday following the attacks on the airport and a rush-hour metro train in Brussels. MKTS/GLOB
DATA AHEAD (GMT)
1400 U.S. New home sales Feb