SINGAPORE, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Gold ticked up on Thursday but
stayed near its lowest level in two weeks after the Federal
Reserve hinted at a possible U.S. rate hike in December,
bolstering the dollar and reducing the appeal of
non-interest-paying bullion.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= nudged up 0.3 percent to $1,158.66 an
ounce by 0012 GMT, following a 1 percent slide in the previous
session. The metal had fallen to $1,152, its lowest since Oct.
13 on Wednesday.
* U.S. gold futures GCcv1 slid 1.5 percent on Thursday.
* The Fed kept interest rates unchanged on Wednesday but in
a direct reference to its next policy meeting put a December
rate hike firmly in play.
* In recent weeks, investors had bet that the U.S. central
bank would delay its first rate hike in nearly a decade to next
year due to weakness in the global economy and its impact on the
United States.
* The Fed on Wednesday said raising rates at its next
meeting would depend on progress made on employment and
inflation, but omitted any reference to global developments
affecting U.S. economic activity.
* The surprise tone sent the dollar soaring against a basket
of major currencies to its highest level in more than two
months. USD/
* A stronger greenback makes gold more expensive for holders
of other currencies, while higher rates also hurt the metal's
appeal.
* Rate futures traders boosted bets that the Fed would raise
rates at its next meeting on Dec 15-16. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N12S274
* Holdings in SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest
gold-backed exchange-traded fund, fell 0.17 percent to 694.34
tonnes on Wednesday. GOL/ETF
* Investors will now be closely monitoring U.S. data,
including gross domestic product due later in the session, to
gauge the strength of the economy and how it could affect the
Fed's monetary policy.
* U.S. third-quarter economic growth could surprise on the
upside after government data on Wednesday showed the goods trade
deficit narrowed sharply to a seven-month low in September.
urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N12S1CE
* For the top stories on metals and other news, click
TOP/MTL or GOL
MARKET NEWS
* U.S. bond yields rose and stocks sold off after the Fed
statement on Wednesday. MKTS/GLOB
DATA AHEAD (GMT)
0855 Germany Unemployment rate Oct
1000 Euro zone Business climate Oct
1230 U.S. GDP Advance Q3
1230 U.S. Weekly jobless claims
1300 Germany Consumer prices Oct
1400 U.S. Pending homes sales Sep
PRICES AT 0012 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg
Spot gold 1158.66 2.96 0.26
Spot silver 15.9 -0.02 -0.13
Spot platinum 994.74 -3.26 -0.33
Spot palladium 674 -3.75 -0.55
Comex gold 1158.9 -17.2 -1.46
Comex silver 15.93 -0.363 -2.23
COMEX gold and silver contracts show the
most active months