SINGAPORE, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Gold held near a one-month low on Thursday and looked likely to drop below the key $1,100-an-ounce level after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen bolstered market expectations for a U.S. interest rate hike in December.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= had ticked up 0.2 percent to $1,109 an ounce by 0035 GMT, staying close to an overnight slide to $1,106, its lowest since Oct. 2.
* Bullion extended its losing streak to a sixth session on Wednesday, after Yellen pointed to a possible December interest rate lift-off.
* In her first public comments since the Fed's meeting last week, Yellen laid out what now appears the base case at the U.S. central bank - that low unemployment, continued growth and faith in a coming return of inflation means the country is ready for higher interest rates. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N12Z20G
* Her remarks pushed bond yields and the dollar higher, while stocks fell. They also caused investors to reset their expectations of a December rate hike above 60 percent. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nS8N10Z00I
* Another top Fed official said on Wednesday that a policy meeting set for Dec. 15-16 is a "live possibility" for raising U.S. interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N12Z2O1
* Gold, a non-yielding asset, tends to benefit from a low interest rate environment.
* Continued investor outflows also hurt gold. SPDR Gold Trust GLD , the top gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell to 680.11 tonnes on Wednesday - the lowest in six weeks. GOL/ETF
* India's prime minister will on Thursday launch a programme to lure tonnes of gold from households into the banking system, but low returns and concerns over tax authorities hounding depositors may hinder a scheme aimed at cutting imports. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N12Y3UR
* Lonmin LMI.L LONJ.J , the world's No.3 platinum miner, urged shareholders to approve a $400 million equity cash call at a meeting next week, saying in a document posted on its website the injection was crucial to its survival. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N12Z144
* For the top stories on metals and other news, click TOP/MTL or GOL
MARKET NEWS
* The dollar stood at three-month highs against a basket of major currencies on Thursday following a jump in U.S. Treasury yields as Fed officials hammered home the message that a December "liftoff" in rates was a distinct possibility. MKTS/GLOB
DATA AHEAD (GMT)
0700 Germany Industrial orders Sep
1000 Euro zone Retail sales Sep
1330 U.S. Weekly jobless claims
PRICES AT 0035 GMT Metal
Last
Change Pct chg
Spot gold
1109
1.94
0.18 Spot silver
15.065 0.025
0.17 Spot platinum
955.7
3.7
0.39 Spot palladium
626.13
0.13
0.02 Comex gold
1108.6
2.4
0.22 Comex silver
15.08 0.022
0.15
COMEX gold and silver contracts show the most active months