MANILA, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Gold steadied early on Thursday
after suffering its biggest fall in five weeks the session
before as Wall Street rallied, while comments from a top Federal
Reserve official that a U.S. rate hike next month looks "less
compelling" could support sentiment.
New York Fed President William Dudley said the prospect of a
September rate rise seems less appropriate given the threat
posed to the U.S. economy by recent market turmoil.
ID:nL1N11110H
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= was flat at $1,125.06 an ounce by 0034
GMT, after dropping 1.3 percent on Wednesday, its steepest
decline since July 20.
* Bullion fell to a one-week low of $1,117.35 overnight,
taking its losses this week to around 3 percent.
* U.S. gold for December delivery GCcv1 was little changed
at $1,124.70 an ounce.
* A gauge of U.S. business investment plans recorded its
largest increase in just over a year in July, buoying the dollar
and dragging gold lower on Wednesday. Gold has now dropped
nearly 4 percent from a seven-week high reached on Aug. 21.
* Investors are also keeping an eye on Chinese markets after
wild swings this week that fueled a global rout. On Wednesday,
China's key indexes ended down for a fifth straight session
after swinging more than 3 percent in both directions in extreme
volatility. .SS
* South Africa's mining industry, unions and the government
have committed to a broad plan to stem job losses, including
boosting platinum by promoting the metal as a central bank
reserve asset. ID:nL5N1111N0
* For the top stories on metals and other news, click
TOP/MTL or GOL
MARKET NEWS
* Asian stocks rose as a sharp rebound on Wall Street helped
soothe investors' tattered nerves, while the dollar rallied as
risk aversion eased. MKTS/GLOB
DATA AHEAD (GMT)
0600 Germany Import prices Jul
0645 France Business climate Aug
1230 U.S. GDP Preliminary Q2
1230 U.S. Weekly jobless claims
1400 U.S. Pending homes sales Jul