Gold holds near 2-year highs on easing dollar, weaker equities

BENGALURU (Reuters) - Gold prices held steady early on Tuesday on an easing dollar and weaker Asian stocks, after the metal surged to near two-year highs the session before.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold was up 0.1 percent at $1,351.49 an ounce by 0052 GMT. The precious metal touched a peak of $1,357.60 an ounce Monday, less than $1 below last month's high.

* U.S. gold was up over 1 percent at $1,354.30.

* Silver rose as much as 7 percent and breaking above $21 an ounce for the first time in two years on Monday. The white metal was up 0.4 at $20.40.

* Asian shares stepped back after five straight days of gains on Tuesday as investors took stock of a rally driven by the hope that central banks will provide stimulus to offset a likely downturn triggered by Brexit.

* The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six rival currencies, edged down 0.1 percent to 95.581.

* Britain's vote to leave the European Union has ramped up the urgency for some Asian central banks to ease monetary policy, as a prolonged period of uncertainty threatens a wider downshift in trade and investment.

* Chinese commodities from nickel to cotton surged on Monday on hopes Beijing will unleash more stimulus to prop up a sluggish economy, brightening the outlook for raw material demand.* China's central bank said on Monday that it would use various policy tools to maintain appropriate liquidity and reasonable growth in credit and social financing.

* A flurry of data from China in coming weeks is expected to show continued weakness in trade and investment, sluggish industrial output and another drop in foreign reserves, reinforcing views that Beijing will roll out more economic support measures soon.

* London-listed shares of precious metals miners advanced to new highs on Monday, tracking gains in gold and silver prices, with Randgold Resources climbing to a record high and Fresnillo at its best level since late 2012.

(Reporting by Nallur Sethuraman in Bengaluru; Editing by Joseph Radford)