BENGALURU, June 7 (Reuters) - Gold held steady near two-week highs on Tuesday, benefiting from a weaker dollar, as cautious remarks by Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen gave few indications about the timing of U.S. rate increases.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= was up 0.1 percent at $1,245.76 per ounce by 0057 GMT. It reached a high of $1,246.21, within sight of $1,250.76 last touched on May 24.
* U.S. gold GCcv1 rose 0.1 percent at $1,248.50
* Yellen on Monday gave a largely upbeat assessment of the U.S. economic outlook and said interest rate hikes are coming but, in an omission that stood out to some investors, gave little sense of when. Two more top U.S. central bankers on Monday joined a chorus of policymakers all but dismissing the possibility of an interest rate hike next week, but professing their continued belief a hike soon after will be possible. The Fed said on Monday that its index on labor market conditions fell to its lowest since May 2009, reinforcing a perception of slowing job growth following last week's stunningly weak payrolls report. The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. currency against a basket of six major rivals, nudged up 0.1 percent to 93.959 .DXY , but it remained within sight of its overnight low of 93.745, its weakest level since May 11.
* Holdings in SPDR Gold Trust GLD , the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, fell 0.03 percent to 881.15 tonnes on Monday. GOL/ETF
* South Africa's Northam Platinum NHMJ.J suspended production at its Zondereinde mine after a worker was stabbed to death there during a fight between members of two different unions, the company said on Monday. A weaker economy in Kyrgyzstan is to blame for the Central Asian state "turning up the heat" on Centerra Gold Inc CG.TO in recent weeks as the country guns for a bigger slice of the miner's profits, Centerra's chief executive said on Monday. For the top stories on metals and other news, click TOP/MTL or GOL
MARKET REPORT
* Asian shares hit a five-week high on Tuesday as MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS rose 0.5 percent, while Japan's Nikkei average .N225 firmed 0.2 percent. MKTS/GLOB
DATA AHEAD (GMT)
0600 Germany industrial output
Apr
0645 France trade data
Apr
0900 Euro zone revised GDP
Q1
1230 U.S. revised labor costs
Q1