SINGAPORE, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Gold held near a one-month low
on Thursday and looked likely to drop below the key
$1,100-an-ounce level after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen
bolstered market expectations for a U.S. interest rate hike in
December.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= had ticked up 0.2 percent to $1,109 an
ounce by 0035 GMT, staying close to an overnight slide to
$1,106, its lowest since Oct. 2.
* Bullion extended its losing streak to a sixth session on
Wednesday, after Yellen pointed to a possible December interest
rate lift-off.
* In her first public comments since the Fed's meeting last
week, Yellen laid out what now appears the base case at the U.S.
central bank - that low unemployment, continued growth and faith
in a coming return of inflation means the country is ready for
higher interest rates. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N12Z20G
* Her remarks pushed bond yields and the dollar higher,
while stocks fell. They also caused investors to reset their
expectations of a December rate hike above 60 percent.
urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nS8N10Z00I
* Another top Fed official said on Wednesday that a policy
meeting set for Dec. 15-16 is a "live possibility" for raising
U.S. interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade.
urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N12Z2O1
* Gold, a non-yielding asset, tends to benefit from a low
interest rate environment.
* Continued investor outflows also hurt gold. SPDR Gold
Trust GLD , the top gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its
holdings fell to 680.11 tonnes on Wednesday - the lowest in six
weeks. GOL/ETF
* India's prime minister will on Thursday launch a programme
to lure tonnes of gold from households into the banking system,
but low returns and concerns over tax authorities hounding
depositors may hinder a scheme aimed at cutting imports.
urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N12Y3UR
* Lonmin LMI.L LONJ.J , the world's No.3 platinum miner,
urged shareholders to approve a $400 million equity cash call at
a meeting next week, saying in a document posted on its website
the injection was crucial to its survival. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N12Z144
* For the top stories on metals and other news, click
TOP/MTL or GOL
MARKET NEWS
* The dollar stood at three-month highs against a basket of
major currencies on Thursday following a jump in U.S. Treasury
yields as Fed officials hammered home the message that a
December "liftoff" in rates was a distinct possibility.
MKTS/GLOB
DATA AHEAD (GMT)
0700 Germany Industrial orders Sep
1000 Euro zone Retail sales Sep
1330 U.S. Weekly jobless claims
PRICES AT 0035 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg
Spot gold 1109 1.94 0.18
Spot silver 15.065 0.025 0.17
Spot platinum 955.7 3.7 0.39
Spot palladium 626.13 0.13 0.02
Comex gold 1108.6 2.4 0.22
Comex silver 15.08 0.022 0.15
COMEX gold and silver contracts show the
most active months