SINGAPORE, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Gold languished near a
four-week low on Thursday, retaining losses from its biggest
drop in nearly two months overnight, as higher equities and
uncertainty over the timing of a U.S. interest rate hike
weighed.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= was little changed at $1,106.60 an ounce
by 0031 GMT, after dropping 1.4 percent in the previous session
- its biggest daily drop since July 20. The metal slid to
$1,101.11 on Wednesday, its lowest since Aug. 11.
* U.S. gold GCcv1 was up 0.4 percent at $1,105.90, largely
holding on to a 1.7 percent drop overnight.
* Stocks on European and major Asian bourses ended higher on
Wednesday, although U.S. equities fell. The dollar rose, riding
a global equities rally that helped reassure investors along
with signs that governments in China and Japan were readying
fresh economic stimulus. MKTS/GLOB
* A rally in equities reduced demand for gold as a
safe-haven, while a stronger dollar makes gold more expensive
for holders of other currencies.
* Traders were also awaiting the U.S. central bank's next
policy statement on Sept. 17 for clues on the timing of a U.S.
interest rate rise.
* Gold has benefited in recent years from ultra-low rates,
which cut the opportunity cost of holding bullion while holding
the dollar in check. Expectations that rates will rise soon have
helped push the metal down 5 percent this year.
* Economic data on Wednesday showed U.S. job openings surged
to a record high in July and employers appeared to have trouble
filling openings, the latest signal of an increasingly tight
labour market that could push the Federal Reserve closer to
raising interest rates.
* Investor interest in the metal has been tepid. SPDR Gold
Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund,
said its holdings fell 0.61 percent to 678.18 tonnes on
Wednesday - the biggest drop since Aug. 12.
* India will soon launch a sovereign gold bond and a scheme
to mobilise tonnes of the metal stored in households, the
finance minister said, a move that mainly seeks to wean
investors away from physical gold and cut massive imports.
* For the top stories on metals and other news, click
TOP/MTL or GOL
DATA AHEAD (GMT)
0130 China Consumer prices Aug
0130 China Producer prices Aug
0645 France Industrial output Jul
1230 U.S. Weekly jobless claims
1230 U.S. Import prices Aug
1230 U.S. Export prices Aug
1400 U.S. Wholesale inventories Jul
PRICES AT 0031 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg
Spot gold 1106.6 0.9 0.08
Spot silver 14.565 -0.045 -0.31
Spot platinum 977.2 -3.8 -0.39
Spot palladium 574 -5.3 -0.91
Comex gold 1105.9 3.9 0.35
Comex silver 14.575 -0.001 -0.01
Euro 1.1235
DXY 95.788
COMEX gold and silver contracts show the
most active months