* Fed's Lockhart says he will support Sept rate rise
* U.S. private sector adds 185,000 jobs in July
* U.S. services sector in July beat expectations
* Platinum, palladium hover near multi-year lows
(Updates prices; adds comment, second byline, NEW YORK
dateline)
By Marcy Nicholson and Clara Denina
NEW YORK/LONDON, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Gold eased on Wednesday,
hovering above the recent 5-1/2 year low on earlier pressure
from the dollar as U.S. services sector data revived
expectations of a U.S. interest rate rise as early as September.
Spot gold XAU= was down 0.2 percent at $1,085.35 an ounce
by 2:37 p.m. EDT (1837 GMT), while U.S. gold for delivery in
December GCcv1 settled down 0.5 percent, at $1,085.60 an
ounce.
Spot prices had briefly rebounded after earlier U.S. data
showed private sector hiring in July had risen the least since
April, which initially weighed on the dollar .DXY .
ID:nZON1YIM00
But a stronger-than-forecast private report on the U.S.
services sector in July pushed the dollar to a 2-month high and
gold close to a late July low of $1,077, the weakest since
February 2010. The greenback later returned lower, easing by 0.1
percent, but bullion prices remained down. ID:nL1N10G15Y
The next main data event is U.S. non-farm payrolls on
Friday. ECONUS
"The non-manufacturing ISM has outweighed the ADP number ...
today has not changed the view that the Fed is on track to raise
rates in September," Commerzbank (XETRA:CBKG) analyst Daniel Briesemann said.
The prospect of the first U.S. rate rise in nearly a decade
was backed up by Atlanta Federal Reserve President Dennis
Lockhart on Tuesday, according to the Wall Street Journal.
ID:nL1N10F25P
This would increase the opportunity cost of holding the
metal, an asset that does not earn interest. Bullion lost nearly
seven percent in July.
On Wednesday, however, Fed Governor Jerome Powell said
policymakers have not yet decided whether to raise interest
rates next month. ID:nL1N10G0YJ
"Statements about the likely date of the rate hike is having
only a modest impact on gold prices probably because this
must go down in history as the most telegraphed notice of a rate
change to fully prepare the market in advance," said Ross
Norman, chief executive of bullion brokerage Sharps Pixley.
Platinum and palladium wallowed near multi-year lows on a
global supply glut and prospects of sluggish demand from the
automotive sector.
Holdings of the SPDR Gold Trust GLD , the world's largest
gold-backed exchange-traded fund, dropped further on Tuesday to
21.56 million ounces, the lowest since September 2008. GOL/ETF
Spot platinum XPT= fell 0.6 percent to $946 an ounce,
close to $940.50 on Tuesday, its lowest since February 2009.
Palladium XPD= was up 0.1 percent at $593, after hitting a
near three-year low of $586.33 in the previous session.
Silver XAG= was steady at $14.58 an ounce.