MANILA, May 10 (Reuters) - Gold slipped to a 1-1/2-week low
on Tuesday, extending steep losses from the prior session as the
dollar remained strong, curbing appetite for the precious metal.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= was off 0.3 percent at $1,260.31 an ounce
by 0037 GMT, after hitting an early low of $1,259.51, its
weakest since April 28. Bullion fell 1.9 percent on Monday, its
sharpest single-day drop since March 23.
* Tuesday marked gold's sixth fall out of seven sessions,
having failed to hold above the $1,300 resistance, and not
benefitting much from data last week showing that the U.S.
economy added the fewest jobs in seven months in April.
* Gold is still up 19 percent this year as expectations for
a near-term increase in U.S. interest rates has faded.
* U.S. gold for June delivery GCcv1 slipped 0.3 percent to
$1,262.40 an ounce.
* Indians bought a third less gold than last year during the
annual Hindu and Jain holy festival of Akshaya Tritiya on
Monday, industry officials estimate, as droughts have hit the
earnings of millions of farmers and the metal's price rallied.
* Eldorado Gold ELD.TO will resume construction work at a
stalled Greek gold mine project after it received approval by
Greek authorities.
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MARKET NEWS
* Asian shares got off to a weak start, pressured by weaker
crude oil prices, though Japanese shares got a tailwind as the
dollar stood tall against the yen. MKTS/GLOB
* The dollar drifted to its highest in nearly two weeks
against major currencies .DXY while the yen nursed broad
losses after showing its biggest one-day fall in more than two
weeks on Monday. USD/
DATA AHEAD (GMT)
0130 China Consumer prices April
0130 China Producer prices April
0600 Germany Industrial output Mar
0600 Germany Trade balance Mar
0645 France Industrial output Mar
1000 U.S. NFIB business optimism Apr
1400 U.S. Wholesale inventories Mar