* Gold prices edge lower after 3-day rally
* European stocks firm, dollar index rises
* China's silver imports doubled in August-official data
(Updates throughout, changes dateline, pvs SINGAPORE)
By Jan Harvey
LONDON, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Gold retreated from the previous
session's near three-week high on Monday as strength in stocks
and the dollar dampened a rally fuelled by the Federal Reserve's
decision last week to keep U.S. interest rates on hold.
European stocks climbed 0.6 percent on Monday, while the
dollar rose against a basket of currencies after speculation
that other major central banks may ease policy after the Federal
Reserve delayed an interest rate hike.
Spot gold was down 0.2 percent at $1,136.53 an ounce
at 0952 GMT, while U.S. gold futures GCv1 for December
delivery were down $1.40 an ounce at $1,136.40.
Gold held in a narrow range earlier this month on
uncertainty over whether the Fed would hike rates for the first
time in nearly a decade, lifting the opportunity cost of holding
non-yielding bullion while potentially boosting the dollar.
It rose sharply after the Fed shied away from a hike on
Thursday, peaking at $1,141.50 the following day, but has now
retreated below that level.
"The bottom line is that any delay in raising rates will be
supportive, but it won't be a catalyst to shift gold from
neutral to bearish into a bullish market," Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN)
analyst Robin Bhar said.
"As we're seeing, rallies are being sold into on the
perception that there are better rewards elsewhere, i.e.
equities," he said. "Gold is always going to struggle in a low
inflation environment."
With the Fed still expected to hike rates before the end of
the year, gold could come under pressure again.
An interest rate hike will likely be appropriate this year
given the U.S. central bank's decision last week to stand pat
was a "close call", Fed policymaker John Williams said on
Saturday.
U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed on
Friday that hedge funds and money managers slashed their net
long position in COMEX gold to a five-week low in the week ended
Sept. 15, just before the Fed policy meet, while increasing
their short positions.
Among other precious metals, silver XAG= was up 0.1
percent at $15.17 an ounce, while platinum XPT= was down 0.4
percent at $974.90 an ounce and palladium XPD= was down 0.2
percent at $601.72 an ounce.
China's platinum imports rose 16 percent in August, official
customs data showed on Monday, while palladium imports fell
nearly 37 percent and silver imports more than doubled.
"The silver price is clearly finding support from China
again," Commerzbank (XETRA:CBKG) said in a note, adding that last month's
imports of 353 tonnes "constituted the highest imports since
February 2014".