SINGAPORE, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Gold was trading near its
highest in seven weeks on Monday, bolstered by expectations the
Federal Reserve will not hike U.S. interest rates soon.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= was little changed at $1,156 an ounce by
0043 GMT, after gaining 1.6 percent in the previous session.
* The metal climbed to $1,159.80 on Friday, its highest
since Aug. 28, after minutes from the Fed's September policy
meet showed that the central bank was deeply cautious about
tightening monetary policy.
* Weakness in the dollar, which fell to a three-week low on
Friday, also helped support gold. USD/
* A delayed rate rise could support non-interest-paying
gold, although uncertainty over the timing could weigh on prices
in the near term.
* Two influential Fed policymakers on Friday reinforced Fed
Chair Janet Yellen's message that a rate hike is coming by
year's end. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N1291QG
* Fed policymakers are still likely to raise rates this year
but that is "an expectation, not a commitment", and could change
if the global economy pushes the U.S. economy further off
course, Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer said over the weekend.
urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N12B087
* Recent weak U.S. data and concerns over the global economy
have prompted many to believe the first U.S. rate hike in nearly
a decade will not come this year.
* Hedge funds and money managers raised their bullish bets
in COMEX gold and silver to four-month highs in the week ended
Oct. 6, data on Friday showed, amid expectations the Fed will
delay a much-anticipated rate hike. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N1291V1
* Elsewhere, the London Bullion Market Association said on
Friday it has formally asked exchanges and technology firms to
bid for services such as a gold exchange or a clearing platform
to make the London market more transparent and liquid.
urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1292MQ
* South Africa's Association of Mineworkers and Construction
Union voted on Sunday to strike at the operations of AngloGold
Ashanti ANGJ.J , Harmony Gold HARJ.J and Sibanye Gold
SGLJ.J . urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N12B0MU
* Among other precious metals, platinum XPT= eased 0.2
percent to $976.99, but wasn't too far from a three-week high of
$983 reached in the previous session.
* Palladium XPD= was down 0.4 percent on Monday after
climbing to a near-four-month high of $722 on Friday.
* Trading activity during Asian hours is likely to be
thinner than usual with Japanese markets closed for a public
holiday. U.S. markets will also be shut on Monday for a holiday.
* For the top stories on metals and other news, click
TOP/MTL or GOL
DATA AHEAD (GMT)
No major data scheduled
PRICES AT 0043 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg
Spot gold 1156 -1.13 -0.1
Spot silver 15.83 0.01 0.06
Spot platinum 976.99 -1.51 -0.15
Spot palladium 704.55 -2.95 -0.42
Comex gold 1155.9 0 0
Comex silver 15.83 0.012 0.08
COMEX gold and silver contracts show the
most active months