* Gold adds to 1.6 pct gain from previous session
* Dollar near 3-week low after Fed minutes
(Updates prices)
By A. Ananthalakshmi
SINGAPORE, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Gold jumped to a seven-week
high on Monday bolstered by a weaker dollar and expectations the
Federal Reserve will not hike U.S. interest rates this year.
Spot gold XAU= rose 0.8 percent to $1,166.26 an ounce by
0651 GMT, after climbing to $1,166.60 earlier in the session,
its highest since Aug. 24. The dollar was close to a three-week
low. USD/
The metal gained 1.6 percent in the previous session after
minutes from the Fed's September policy meeting showed that the
U.S. central bank was deeply cautious about tightening monetary
policy.
Trading activity during Asian hours was thinner than usual
with Japanese markets closed for a public holiday. U.S. markets
will also be shut on Monday for a holiday.
But investors will be keen on U.S. data on inflation, retail
sales and industrial production due later in the week.
"We don't expect the U.S. economic data to be very
optimistic," said Howie Lee, an analyst at Phillip Futures.
"So the dollar could be in for more pain this week. That
could push gold higher, even up to $1,180," he said.
Soft economic data could add to pressure on the Fed to delay
the first U.S. rate hike in nearly a decade, following a
weaker-than-expected nonfarm payrolls report earlier this month
and caution over the global economy.
Markets now expect the first U.S. rate hike in nearly a
decade in early 2016.
A delayed rate rise could support non-interest-paying gold,
although uncertainty over the timing could weigh on prices in
the near-term.
Fed policymakers are still likely to raise rates this year
but that is "an expectation, not a commitment", and could change
if the global economy pushes the U.S. economy further off
course, Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer said over the weekend.
urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N12B087
Hedge funds and money managers raised their bullish bets in
COMEX gold and silver to four-month highs in the week ended Oct.
6, data on Friday showed, amid expectations the Fed will delay a
much-anticipated rate hike. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N1291V1
Also supporting prices was news from South Africa that the
Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union voted on
Sunday to strike at the operations of AngloGold Ashanti
ANGJ.J , Harmony Gold HARJ.J and Sibanye Gold SGLJ.J .
urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N12B0MU
Among other precious metals, silver XAG= gained nearly 1
percent, while platinum XPT= jumped to a one-month high of
$988.30 an ounce.
Palladium XPD= was trading close to a near-four-month high
of $722 reached on Friday.
PRICES AT 0651 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg
Spot gold 1166.26 9.13 0.79
Spot silver 15.94 0.12 0.76
Spot platinum 983.99 5.49 0.56
Spot palladium 710.5 3 0.42
Comex gold 1166 10.1 0.87
Comex silver 15.955 0.137 0.87
COMEX gold and silver contracts show the
most active months