SINGAPORE, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Gold was little changed just
below a near-two-week high on Thursday, as the dollar firmed and
traders awaited minutes of the last Federal Reserve policy
meeting for clues about the timing of a U.S. rate hike.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= was trading at $1,144.50 an ounce by 0039
GMT. The metal had climbed to $1,153.30 in the previous session,
its highest since Sept. 24, before closing 0.1 percent lower as
the dollar gained.
* The U.S. dollar benefited from the greater risk appetite
and rose against the euro and Swiss franc.
* Bullion's losses were capped by views that the Fed would
delay the first rate hike in nearly a decade until 2016, after a
recent string of weak U.S. economic data.
* The minutes from the Fed's last meeting in September will
be released at 1800 GMT, with markets watching out for U.S.
central bank officials' views on the global economy and the
impact on U.S. monetary policy.
* Gold had earlier come under pressure from expectations
that the Fed may raise interest rates this year, potentially
lifting the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion. A
delayed rate could support prices in the near term.
* The return of top consumer China from a week-long holiday
could also lend support to prices on Thursday.
* SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed
exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell 0.26 percent to
687.20 tonnes on Wednesday.
* Among other precious metals, silver XAG= eased 0.7
percent after a four-day rally that saw the metal hitting a
3-1/2-month high of $16.10 on Wednesday.
* Palladium XPD= fell 1 percent after hitting its highest
since June earlier this week.
* Global miner and commodities trader Glencore GLEN.L has
closed its Eland platinum mine in South Africa resulting in 818
job losses due to falling prices and difficult operating
conditions, it said on Wednesday. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N12737X
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MARKET NEWS
* The dollar stood tall against a basket of currencies in
early Asian trading on Thursday, though it remained in its
recent range as investors awaited the Fed minutes. USD/
DATA AHEAD (GMT)
0600 Germany Trade data Aug
1230 U.S. Weekly jobless claims
1800 Minutes of Federal Open Market Committee meeting on
Sept 16-17
PRICES AT 0039 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg
Spot gold 1144.5 -0.5 -0.04
Spot silver 15.955 -0.115 -0.72
Spot platinum 941 0.25 0.03
Spot palladium 689.75 -7.25 -1.04
Comex gold 1144.5 -4.2 -0.37
Comex silver 15.99 -0.104 -0.65
COMEX gold and silver contracts show the
most active months