MANILA, July 28 (Reuters) - Gold languished near its weakest
level since early 2010 on Tuesday, with no meaningful recovery
seen as expectations for a U.S. interest rate increase grow.
The Federal Reserve begins a two-day meeting later in the
day where policymakers are likely to signal further that a rate
hike later in the year is certain as the U.S. economy
strengthens.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= was flat at $1,093.45 an ounce by 0051
GMT. Bullion fell to as low as $1,077 on Friday, its cheapest
since February 2010, stretching its losing run to a fifth
straight week.
* U.S. gold for August delivery GCcv1 slipped 0.3 percent
to $1,093 an ounce.
* Amid weaker gold prices, holdings of the world's biggest
gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the SPDR Gold Trust GLD ,
fell for a seventh day on Friday to 21.87 million ounces, the
lowest since September 2008. GOL/ETF
* Also weighing on sentiment, China's net gold imports from
main conduit Hong Kong fell to a 10-month low in June,
reflecting weak demand from the major consuming nation.
ID:nL3N1073E0
* Money managers, who have been cooling on gold for some
time, last week held more short positions than long ones in the
precious metal for the first time in nearly a decade, Bank of
America said, suggesting an expectation prices will continue to
fall. ID:nL1N1071HY
* Speculators have confirmed what everyone else has been
thinking: expect more falls in commodities, as worries about
China and higher interest rates combine with waning sentiment to
suggest markets are heading further south. ID:nL5N1072VQ
* For the top stories on metals and other news, click
TOP/MTL or GOL/
MARKET NEWS
* Asian stocks retreated, waiting nervously to see how
Chinese shares fare later in the session after Monday's slump
all but erased risk appetite. MKTS/GLOB
* The safe-haven yen held firm as investors remained
cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve meeting. USD/
DATA/EVENTS AHEAD (GMT)
1300 U.S. S&P/Case-Shiller housing index May
1345 U.S. Markit services PMI flash July
1400 U.S. Consumer confidence July
1400 U.S. Richmond Fed composite index July
Federal Open Market Committee begins two-day policy meeting