* Gold falls for second straight session
* Could decline below $1,200/oz -analyst
* SPDR assets drop, speculators raise bullish positions
(Updates throughout, changes dateline from SINGAPORE)
By Clara Denina
LONDON, April 4 (Reuters) - Gold fell on Monday after a
strong U.S. labour report boosted investor risk sentiment and
the dollar stabilised, while uncertainty continued about the
Federal Reserve's interest rates path.
Spot gold XAU= eased 0.6 percent to $1,215.13 an ounce by
0952 GMT, while U.S. gold for June delivery GCcv1 slipped 0.4
percent to $1,218.20 an ounce.
Spot prices saw their biggest quarterly rise in nearly 30
years in the three months to March, rallying more than 16
percent on speculation the Fed was not in a hurry to normalize
interest rates, but drifted back towards the key $1,200 level
after hawkish comments from several Fed officials.
The U.S. central bank raised rates in December for the first
time in nearly a decade.
"The Fed is still concerned about the global economic growth
and the pace of interest rates increases will be gradual," ETF
Securities' strategist Edith Southammakosane said.
"The FOMC minutes this Wednesday could provide a better idea
of when the Fed plans the next rate hike."
The minutes from the Fed's March 15 to 16 Federal Open
Market Committee meeting will be released on Wednesday.
The metal is highly exposed to rising rates, which lift the
opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets, while boosting
the dollar.
Gold could fall below $1,200 soon and test key double-bottom
support at around $1,170 to $1,175, INTL FCStone said in a note.
"We could see the markets start coalescing around
expectations that the Fed will now put a rate increase back on
the table, perhaps for some time in May or June," it added.
Data on Friday showed non-farm payrolls rose by 215,000 last
month, higher than expectations of 205,000, underscoring the
strength in the U.S. economy.
U.S. interest rate futures suggested traders are now betting
the Fed will next raise rates as soon as November, versus
December ahead of the report. Wall Street's top banks held firm
to their expectation for a rate hike in June, according to a
Reuters survey conducted on Friday.
In the near term, support for gold sits around $1,215 and
below this at $1,210, MKS Group said in a note.
Investor positioning in gold is largely bullish. Hedge funds
and money managers boosted their bullish bet in gold in the week
to March 29, to the highest since the end of 2012, U.S.
Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed on Friday.
Assets in SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed
exchange-traded fund, fell 0.15 percent to 818.09 tonnes on
Friday, but remain near the highest in over two years.
Silver =XAG lost 0.3 percent to $14.98, platinum XPT=
slipped 0.2 percent to $952.40 and palladium XPD= fell 1.2
percent to $558.60.