SINGAPORE, March 14 (Reuters) - Gold bounced back on Monday,
inching closer to last week's 13-month high as the dollar
remained under pressure ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's
policy meeting.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= rose 0.4 percent to $1,252.50 an ounce by
0009 GMT while U.S. gold GCcv1 eased 0.5 percent to $1,253.40
an ounce.
* The main focus is the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy
meeting on March 15-16. The Fed lifted rates for the first time
in nearly a decade in December.
* After rolling out bold measures to boost the euro zone
economies, including increased asset buying and a deeper cut to
deposit rates, ECB President Mario Draghi on Thursday signalled
there would be no further rate cuts.
* The relatively weak dollar and a repricing of expectations
for U.S. interest rate rises have helped gold rebound by more
than 18 percent this year so far. Bullion regained its role as a
shelter for risk-averse investors, in the face of tumbling
equities and fears of a global economic slowdown.
* Hedge funds and money managers increased their bullish
position in COMEX gold to the highest in 13 months in the week
to March 8, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data
showed on Friday, as safe-haven buying lifted prices to the
highest since February 2015.
* Physical gold demand slowed in top consumer China last
week, while a strike by jewellers protesting against the
imposition of a tax curbed demand in No. 2 market India.
GOL/AS
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MARKET NEWS
* The U.S. dollar wallowed at one-month lows against a
basket of major currencies early on Monday with the Federal
Reserve seen almost certain to stand pat at this week's policy
review.
DATA AHEAD (GMT)
1000 Euro zone Industrial production Jan