SINGAPORE, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Gold looked set for another
muted trading session on Friday but was headed for the seventh
weekly drop in eight weeks as investors positioned for a looming
U.S. rate hike.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= was little changed at $1,070.56 an ounce
by 0044 GMT, after closing flat over the last two sessions. For
the week, bullion is down 1.5 percent.
* A strong U.S. nonfarm payrolls report last week cemented
expectations of a rate hike at the Federal Reserve's policy
meeting on Dec. 15-16.
* The first hike in nearly a decade is expected to dent
demand for gold, a non-interest paying asset.
* Fed Chair Janet Yellen next week has to decide not only
whether to raise rates for the first time in a decade, but also
how to assure markets on the likely path of future rate hikes.
Traders currently expect the Fed to raise rates two or three
times next year.
* The metal, on track for a third straight annual decline,
has lost 9.5 percent of its value this year.
* A robust dollar was limiting interest in gold. The
greenback rebounded from a one-month low on Thursday, boosted by
rate hike expectations. USD/
* Weakness in oil was also hurting bullion. A slide in oil
could trigger fears of deflation, a bearish factor for gold,
which is often used as a hedge against oil-led inflation.
* Crude prices fell 1 percent on Thursday to the lowest
since 2009. O/R
* Short positions in COMEX gold futures and options are at
record highs, while assets in SPDR Gold Trust, the top bullion
exchange traded fund, are at their lowest since Sept. 2008.
* Investors have boosted bets that the gold price will soon
drop to $1,000 an ounce, options data show.
* Elsewhere, China has delayed the launch of its
yuan-denominated gold benchmark on the Shanghai Gold Exchange to
next year, two sources familiar with the matter said.
* For the top stories on metals and other news, click
TOP/MTL or GOL
MARKET NEWS
* U.S. stocks climbed but other major equity markets were
little changed on Thursday ahead of the widely expected rate
hike by the Fed next week. MKTS/GLOB
DATA AHEAD (GMT)
0700 Germany Wholesale price index Nov
1330 U.S. Retail sales Nov
1500 U.S. Business inventories Oct
1500 U.S. University of Michigan sentiment index Dec
PRICES AT 0044 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg
Spot gold 1070.56 -0.58 -0.05
Spot silver 14.14 0.024 0.17
Spot platinum 853.13 4.13 0.49
Spot palladium 540.9 2.4 0.45
Comex gold 1070.3 -1.7 -0.16
Comex silver 14.12 0.01 0.07
COMEX gold and silver contracts show the
most active months
muted trading session on Friday but was headed for the seventh
weekly drop in eight weeks as investors positioned for a looming
U.S. rate hike.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= was little changed at $1,070.56 an ounce
by 0044 GMT, after closing flat over the last two sessions. For
the week, bullion is down 1.5 percent.
* A strong U.S. nonfarm payrolls report last week cemented
expectations of a rate hike at the Federal Reserve's policy
meeting on Dec. 15-16.
* The first hike in nearly a decade is expected to dent
demand for gold, a non-interest paying asset.
* Fed Chair Janet Yellen next week has to decide not only
whether to raise rates for the first time in a decade, but also
how to assure markets on the likely path of future rate hikes.
Traders currently expect the Fed to raise rates two or three
times next year.
* The metal, on track for a third straight annual decline,
has lost 9.5 percent of its value this year.
* A robust dollar was limiting interest in gold. The
greenback rebounded from a one-month low on Thursday, boosted by
rate hike expectations. USD/
* Weakness in oil was also hurting bullion. A slide in oil
could trigger fears of deflation, a bearish factor for gold,
which is often used as a hedge against oil-led inflation.
* Crude prices fell 1 percent on Thursday to the lowest
since 2009. O/R
* Short positions in COMEX gold futures and options are at
record highs, while assets in SPDR Gold Trust, the top bullion
exchange traded fund, are at their lowest since Sept. 2008.
* Investors have boosted bets that the gold price will soon
drop to $1,000 an ounce, options data show.
* Elsewhere, China has delayed the launch of its
yuan-denominated gold benchmark on the Shanghai Gold Exchange to
next year, two sources familiar with the matter said.
* For the top stories on metals and other news, click
TOP/MTL or GOL
MARKET NEWS
* U.S. stocks climbed but other major equity markets were
little changed on Thursday ahead of the widely expected rate
hike by the Fed next week. MKTS/GLOB
DATA AHEAD (GMT)
0700 Germany Wholesale price index Nov
1330 U.S. Retail sales Nov
1500 U.S. Business inventories Oct
1500 U.S. University of Michigan sentiment index Dec
PRICES AT 0044 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg
Spot gold 1070.56 -0.58 -0.05
Spot silver 14.14 0.024 0.17
Spot platinum 853.13 4.13 0.49
Spot palladium 540.9 2.4 0.45
Comex gold 1070.3 -1.7 -0.16
Comex silver 14.12 0.01 0.07
COMEX gold and silver contracts show the
most active months