SINGAPORE, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Gold steadied on Monday, retaining sharp gains from the previous trading session, as weakness in the dollar and equities helped the metal recoup some losses from a U.S. interest rate hike last week.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= had eased 0.2 percent to $1,064.16 an ounce by 0039 GMT, but largely retained its 1.4-percent gain from the previous session.
* The metal saw some safe-haven bids on Friday after global equity markets fell sharply as slumping oil prices raised concerns about slower growth, while the dollar slipped against the yen on views the Bank of Japan may not ease policy as much as expected. MKTS/GLOB
* Asian share markets got off to a lacklustre start on Monday following a dive on Wall Street, though losses were limited by a general lack of investor interest in a holiday-heavy week.
* Gold's Friday move followed a 2-percent loss in the session prior to that, the metal's biggest single day loss in five months, as the Federal Reserve raised U.S. interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade.
* Concerns that demand for non-interest-paying bullion will take a hit from the rate hike continue to cast a shadow, and will likely limit any rally in gold.
* The Fed will raise interest rates again in the next three months, according to two-thirds of economists polled by Reuters, although many say rates won't rise as quickly next year as policymakers have suggested.
* Bullion is still not too from a near-six-year low of $1,047.25 reached last week. The metal could revisit $1,000 for the first time in six years if it breaks below its early December low at $1,045, according to technical analysts. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N1462W3
* Speculators built a record bearish bet in COMEX gold in the week leading up to a long-awaited decision from the Fed to hike U.S. interest rates, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed on Friday.
* Their bearish stance in bullion surpassed a record set two weeks ago, as they added 7,793 lots to build a net short position of 21,881 lots. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N1472GX
* SPDR Gold Trust GLD , the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings rose 2.98 percent to 648.92 tonnes on Friday, the first increase in two months.
* The total assets had fallen to a seven-year low last week. GOL/ETF
* For the top stories on metals and other news, click TOP/MTL or GOL
DATA AHEAD (GMT)
0700 Germany Producer prices Nov
1330 U.S. National activity index Nov
1500 Euro zone Consumer confidence flash Dec
PRICES AT 0039 GMT Metal
Last
Change
Pct chg
Spot gold
1064.16
-1.65
-0.15 Spot silver
14.04
-0.03
-0.21 Spot platinum
855.43
-3.12
-0.36 Spot palladium
555.15
-0.07
-0.01 Comex gold
1063.7
-1.3
-0.12 Comex silver
14.07
-0.026
-0.18
COMEX gold and silver contracts show the most active months