SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Gold extended losses on Monday to trade near its lowest in a month, as investors waited for a Federal Reserve policy meeting later this week for clarity on when the U.S. central bank will hike interest rates.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold had dropped 0.2 percent to $ 1,105.40 an ounce by 0024 GMT, after losing 0.3 percent on Friday. The metal had fallen to $ 1,098.35 in the previous session, its lowest since Aug. 11.
* U.S. gold edged up 0.2 percent to $ 1,104.90.
* The Fed will kick off a two-day policy meet on Wednesday, with a statement expected on Thursday.
* Gold prices have been hurt this year by uncertainty over the timing of the Fed’s first rate hike in nearly a decade.
* Gold has benefited in recent years from ultra-low rates, which cut the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion while weighing on the dollar, in which it is priced.
* Concerns over slowing economic growth in China, mixed economic data and volatility in financial markets have increased uncertainty about the timing of any U.S. rate increase, which had been expected as early as this month.
* Data on Friday showed U.S. consumer sentiment hit its lowest in a year in early September and producer prices were flat in August, signalling moderate economic growth and tame inflation that could weigh on the Fed’s decision whether to hike interest rates.
* Hedge funds and money managers cut their bullish stance in COMEX gold contracts to a three-week low in the week ended Sept. 8, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed on Friday.
* Gold coin sales in the United States and Europe have surged in the third quarter, with sales from the U.S. Mint reaching levels not seen since the price crash of 2013, as low prices and a series of market shocks fuel retail buying.
MARKET NEWS
* The dollar, euro and yen all got off to a slow start on Monday with investors sticking to the sidelines as the countdown begins on whether the Fed will hike interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade.
DATA AHEAD (GMT)
0430 Japan Industrial production Jul
0900 Euro zone Industrial production Jul
(Reporting by A. Ananthalakshmi; Editing by Joseph Radford)
