SINGAPORE, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Gold extended losses into a
fourth straight session on Monday, struggling near a 2-1/2-week
low after U.S. payrolls data failed to provide clarity on the
timing of a Federal Reserve rate hike.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= dropped 0.3 percent to $1,118.73 an ounce
by 0040 GMT. The metal had fallen to $1,116.75 on Friday, the
lowest since Aug. 19, posting a second straight weekly loss.
* U.S. gold GCcv1 also slid 0.3 percent to $1,118.30.
* Liquidity is likely to be thin on Monday as the U.S.
markets are closed for the Labor Day holiday.
* Bullion had come under pressure on Friday after data
showed nonfarm payrolls increased 173,000 last month after an
upwardly revised gain of 245,000 in July, and the jobless rate
dropped to a 7-1/2-year low. ID:nL1N11925M
* The jobs count, however, may have been tarnished by a
statistical fluke that has often led to sharp upward revisions
to payroll figures for August after initial weak readings.
* The keenly watched jobs report failed to allay uncertainty
over the timing of a Federal Reserve rate hike, a factor that
has been weighing on gold prices for a while.
* Investors had been awaiting the jobs report to gauge the
strength of the economic recovery and whether it would prompt
the U.S. central bank to hike rates at its policy meet later
this month. The Fed has already indicated that the timing of a
hike is largely data-dependent.
* Hedge funds and money managers added slightly to their
bullish position in COMEX gold contracts in the week ended Sept.
1, as prices reversed losses on signs of Chinese economic
weakness, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed
on Friday. ID:nL1N11A1OV
* SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed
exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell 0.04 percent to
682.35 tonnes on Friday. GOL/ETF
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TOP/MTL or GOL
MARKET NEWS
* The dollar nursed its losses on Monday, after dropping on
mixed U.S. employment data that failed to bring much clarity as
to the timing of the Fed's long-awaited interest rate hike.
USD/
DATA AHEAD (GMT)
0600 Germany Industrial Output for July
0830 EZ Sentix Index for September
1150 JP GDP revised QQ Q2
PRICES AT 0040 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg
Spot gold 1118.73 -3.87 -0.34
Spot silver 14.61 0.04 0.27
Spot platinum 978.65 -10.35 -1.05
Spot palladium 570.4 -1.6 -0.28
Comex gold 1118.3 -3.1 -0.28
Comex silver 14.62 0.071 0.49
Euro 1.117
DXY 96.106
COMEX gold and silver contracts show the
most active months