SINGAPORE, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Gold retained gains from its biggest daily jump in nearly nine months on Monday as weak U.S. jobs data eased fears the Federal Reserve will hike rates this year.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= was little changed at $1,137.45 an ounce by 0037 GMT. The metal had gained 2.2 percent on Friday, its biggest one-day rise since Jan. 15.
* Data on Friday showed U.S. employers slammed the brakes on hiring over the last two months, with payrolls outside of farming rising by 142,000 last month. Economists polled by Reuters had expected job growth of 203,000 in September.
* The data raised new doubts on whether the economy was strong enough for the Fed to raise interest rates by the end of this year. ID:nLNN2LEBGC
* Gold, which had been weighed down all year by expectations the U.S. central bank could soon rise rates, rallied as the dollar fell. The metal is still down nearly 4 percent this year.
* Higher rates would dent demand for non-interest-paying gold, while boosting the dollar.
* Silver XAG= had also rallied with gold, gaining 5.4 percent on Friday, its sharpest rise since December, 2014. On Monday, the metal rose to its highest in two weeks of $15.35.
* Platinum XPT= was trading up 0.8 percent at $912, after hitting a near-seven-year-low of $888 in the previous session.
* Platinum has been hit after revelations last month that Volkswagen (XETRA:VOWG) falsified U.S. vehicle emission tests, which some believe could affect demand for diesel cars. Platinum is widely used in auto catalysts, particularly for diesel engines.
* Palladium XPD= rose to $705.72 on Monday, its highest since June, boosted by hopes that demand for gasoline cars, where the metal is used in catalysts, could increase.
* Hedge funds and money managers boosted bullish bets in COMEX gold futures and options to a four-week high but cut a silver net long position in the week to Sept. 29, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed on Friday. ID:nL1N1221YD
* For the top stories on metals and other news, click TOP/MTL or GOL
MARKET NEWS
* Asian stocks rose early on Monday after prospects of a near-term interest rate hike by the Fed ebbed after weaker-than-expected U.S. employment data. MKTS/GLOB
DATA AHEAD (GMT)
0800 EZ Markit Services final PMI Sep
0830 EZ Sentix index Oct
0900 EZ Retail sales Aug
1345 U.S. Markit services PMI Sep
1400 U.S. ISM Non-Mfg PMI Sep
PRICES AT 0037 GMT
Metal
Last
Change Pct chg
Spot gold
1137.45 -0.29
-0.03 Spot silver
15.24
0
0 Spot platinum
912
7
0.77 Spot palladium
703.47
7.97
1.15 Comex gold
1137.2
0.6
0.05 Comex silver
15.245 -0.018
-0.12
COMEX gold and silver contracts show the most active months