SINGAPORE, April 15 (Reuters) - Gold nursed losses on Friday
after posting three days of declines and was heading for its
first weekly drop in three as strength in the dollar and global
equities curbed appetite for the safe-haven metal.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= had eased 0.1 percent to $1,225.70 an
ounce by 0042 GMT, following a 1.3-percent drop in the previous
session. For the week, it is down 1 percent after hitting a
three-week high earlier.
* Stocks across the globe rose to their highest levels since
late December on Thursday and the U.S. dollar gained for a third
day running as investors embraced risk.
* Markets are awaiting Chinese GDP data due later on Friday
and Sunday's meeting of top oil producers in Doha for near-term
cues.
* Bullion-backed exchange-traded funds have seen outflows in
recent days, weighing on gold prices.
* Assets in SPDR Gold Trust GLD , the world's largest
gold-backed exchange-traded fund, fell to 806.82 tonnes on
Thursday, the lowest in a month.
* Gold has steadied after its biggest quarterly rise in
nearly 30 years in the three months to March, driven by a
retreat in expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will push
ahead with several rate hikes this year.
* Gold is sensitive to rising interest rates, which lift the
opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets, while boosting
the dollar.
* Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart on Thursday made it
clear he would not support a rate hike this month and set a high
bar for supporting any move even at the Federal Reserve's June
meeting.
* The Fed will raise interest rates twice this year, most
likely in June, but the probability has faded on signs of a weak
start to the year, inflation that is still tame and a brittle
global backdrop, a Reuters poll showed.
* Deutsche Bank AG DBKGn.DE agreed to settle U.S. lawsuits
accusing it of conspiring with other banks to manipulate gold
and silver prices at investors' expense, court papers show.
* Among other precious metals, silver XAG= was on track to
post a 5-percent weekly gain, its biggest jump in six weeks. It
hit its highest since October earlier this week before giving
back some gains.
* Platinum XPT= was headed for its third straight weekly
gain, while palladium XPD= was poised for its best week in six
with a 3.5-percent rise.
* For the top stories on metals and other news, click
TOP/MTL or GOL
DATA AHEAD (GMT)
0200 China GDP Q1
0200 China Industrial output Mar
0200 China Retail sales Mar
0200 China Urban investment Mar
0900 Euro zone Eurostat trade Feb
1230 U.S. New York Fed manufacturing Apr
1315 U.S. Industrial output Mar
1400 U.S. Univ of Michigan sentiment index Apr
PRICES AT 0042 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg
Spot gold 1225.7 -1.31 -0.11
Spot silver 16.11 -0.038 -0.24
Spot platinum 982.65 -5.6 -0.57
Spot palladium 558 -3.75 -0.67
Comex gold 1227.6 1.1 0.09
Comex silver 16.14 -0.033 -0.2
COMEX gold and silver contracts show the most
active months