SINGAPORE, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Gold bounced back on Monday with the market inching towards last session's nine-week high as pressure on Asian stock markets triggered safe-haven bids for the metal.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= rose 0.3 percent to $1,106.9 an ounce by 0045 GMT. U.S. gold GCcv1 gained 0.8 percent to $1,107.
* Gold climbed to its highest since early November on Friday, adding more than 4 percent to its value this year, as concerns over the Chinese economy and tumbling stock markets boosted the safe-haven appeal of the precious metal.
* Perceived missteps by China's authorities in controlling their share market and currency have led to concerns Beijing might lose its grip on economic policy too.
* China will face great difficulty in achieving economic growth above 6.5 percent over the 2016-2020 period due to slowing global demand and rising labour costs at home, the China Securities Journal quoted a top state adviser as saying. Investment appetite for bullion showed signs of picking up last week. Holdings of the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, New York-listed SPDR Gold Shares (N:GLD), rose 4.2 tonnes on Thursday, data from the fund showed.
* Bullion is often seen as an alternative investment during times of financial uncertainty, although safe-haven rallies tend to be short-lived.
* Gold slid 10 percent last year on fears higher U.S. rates would lower demand for the non-interest-paying asset, while boosting the dollar. A stronger greenback makes dollar-denominated gold costlier for holders of other currencies.
* Silver XAG= was up 0.6 percent at $14.016 an ounce, while platinum XPT= lost 0.8 percent at $869.74 an ounce. Palladium XPD= was down 1.9 percent to $484.5 an ounce.
* For the top stories on metals and other news, click TOP/MTL or GOL
MARKET NEWS
* Asian share markets faced a testing time on Monday after Wall Street suffered its worst starting week in history and doubts over Beijing's policy choices sent investors into the arms of the safe-haven yen and sovereign bonds. MKTS/GLOB
* Oil fell for a fifth straight day on Friday, losing 10 percent on the week, and Goldman Sachs (N:GS) said more losses were needed to force producers to cut supplies adequately to balance the glut and bleak demand outlook. O/R