SINGAPORE, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Gold struggled on Wednesday
to recover from two days of losses as the dollar jumped to its
highest in nearly three weeks on expectations the Federal
Reserve would hike U.S. interest rates this year.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= was steady at $1,124.05 an ounce by 0043
GMT, after dropping 1.3 percent in the previous two sessions.
* The metal's slide follows a rally last week that took it
to a near three-week high after the Fed's move to stand pat on
interest rates. However, the U.S. central bank has also said it
would move to increase rates later this year for the first time
in nearly a decade.
* The Fed will likely pull the trigger and hike interest
rates in December, according to economists polled by Reuters who
assigned a 60 percent probability of it happening.
ID:nL4N11S25E
* Higher rates would dent demand for non-interest-paying
gold, while boosting the dollar. A stronger greenback makes
dollar-denominated gold more expensive for holders of other
currencies.
* The dollar on Wednesday climbed to its highest since early
September against a basket of major currencies, boosted by
expectations of higher rates and the weakness in euro. USD/
* Gold also came under pressure after a sell-off in the
commodities market on Tuesday, on lingering concerns over slower
economic growth in China, the world's top metals, grains and
energy consumer. ID:nL1N11S1J0
* SPDR Gold Trust GLD , the world's largest gold-backed
exchange-traded fund, said its holdings rose 0.18 percent to
675.80 tonnes on Tuesday. GOL/ETF
* Switzerland's gold exports to China and Hong Kong nearly
doubled month-on-month in August, data from the Swiss customs
bureau showed on Tuesday, while shipments to India reached their
highest in five months. ID:nL5N11S112
* Among other precious metals, platinum XPT= was down for
a fourth straight session on Wednesday, dropping to a 6-1/2-year
low of $929 an ounce. Silver XAG= ticked up to $14.78 but
largely holding on to a 3 percent drop overnight.
* For the top stories on metals and other news, click
TOP/MTL or GOL
MARKET NEWS
* Asian stocks fell as global growth worries stung Wall
Street. Fresh cracks in the commodities complex, amplified by
drops in copper, raised concerns that a China-led slowdown may
pose significant headwinds for riskier assets, particularly
equities. MKTS/GLOB
PRICES AT 0043 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg
Spot gold 1124.05 -0.55 -0.05
Spot silver 14.78 0.06 0.41
Spot platinum 932 -2 -0.21
Spot palladium 606.5 1 0.17
Comex gold 1123.5 -1.3 -0.12
Comex silver 14.75 -0.006 -0.04
Euro 1.111
DXY 96.448
COMEX gold and silver contracts show the
most active months