MANILA, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Gold held near a three-week peak
early on Thursday as a weaker Chinese yuan kept equities under
pressure, encouraging investors to seek safe-haven assets.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= was off 0.1 percent at $1,123.25 an ounce
by 0031 GMT, but not far below Wednesday's peak of $1,125.40,
its loftiest since July 20.
* U.S. gold for December delivery GCcv1 was flat at
$1,123.50 an ounce.
* China's currency fell to a four-year low on Wednesday,
slumping for a second day after Beijing's shock devaluation.
Sources told Reuters that there was some support within the
Chinese government for a devaluation of perhaps up to 10 percent
to help struggling exporters.
* Further weakness in the yuan could pull more funds out of
equities and push them into safe-haven assets such as gold.
* An adjustment to China's currency is probably appropriate
if the Chinese economy is weaker than authorities there
expected, New York Fed President William Dudley said in the U.S.
central bank's first public response to the devaluation of the
yuan.
* SPDR Gold Trust GLD , the world's largest gold-backed
exchange-traded fund, said its holdings rose 0.6 percent to 21.6
million ounces on Wednesday, the first increase in days after
falling to the lowest since September 2008. GOL/ETF
MARKET NEWS
* Asian shares and the dollar crept higher, with investors
cautiously watching China's next move after it allowed the yuan
to decline for two straight sessions. MKTS/GLOB
DATA AHEAD (GMT)
1230 U.S. Import prices Jul
1230 U.S. Export prices Jul
1230 U.S. Weekly jobless claims
1230 U.S. Retail sales Jul
1400 U.S. Business inventories Jun