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PRECIOUS-Gold set for 5th weekly drop on dollar, U.S. rate prospects

Published 10/12/2016, 02:17 am
© Reuters. PRECIOUS-Gold set for 5th weekly drop on dollar, U.S. rate prospects
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* SPDR Gold holdings down nearly 9 pct since November

* Traders see 98 pct chance of U.S. rate hike in December (Updates prices, adds comment)

By Clara Denina

LONDON, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Gold edged lower on Friday as the dollar and global equities rose, and was headed for a fifth straight weekly decline on expectations of a Federal Reserve rate hike next week.

Spot gold XAU= had dropped 0.7 percent to $1,161.72 an ounce by 1508 GMT, and was down 1.3 percent for the week.

The metal fell more than 8 percent in November and hit a 10-month low on Monday, as U.S. Treasury yields rose after Donald Trump's election led to speculation his commitment to infrastructure spending would spur growth. This sentiment was aided by solid U.S. economic data.

As gold pays no interest, the rise in returns from U.S. bonds is seen as negative for the metal as these are viewed as a key indicator the Fed will continue to raise rates into the new year, analysts said.

"Technically the trend could still be called bearish, even if the space for further corrections is clearly reduced, after prices moved down by $200 from the two-year peak reached in July," ActivTrades chief analyst Carlo Alberto de Casa said.

"We could see immediate support at $1,145-$1,150, while resistance is placed at $1,200."

The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 indices reached all-time highs and the dollar .DXY was up 0.5 percent versus a basket of six major currencies, as a rise in Fed interest rates at next week's policy meeting seems fully priced in. FRX/ .N

Interest rate futures FFZ6 FFM7 implied traders saw a 98 percent chance the Fed would raise rates by a quarter point next week, and about a 50 percent chance it would raise rates by at least another quarter point by June 2017, according to CME Group's FedWatch program.

"In the short term, more downside is likely as it seems to be a foregone conclusion that the Fed will raise rates next week," ING commodity strategist Warren Patterson said.

"It seems that investors are looking at equities as to where to put their money on confidence about economic growth."

A spate of recent robust U.S. economic data, including monthly hiring numbers, GDP growth and inflation, which have underscored the economy's strength, reinforced the case for more Federal Reserve rate increases.

Holdings of the SPDR Gold Trust GLD , the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, fell 0.34 percent to 860.71 tonnes on Thursday. SPDR holdings have fallen nearly 9 percent since November and are on track for a fifth straight week of losses. GOL/ETF

Silver XAG= was down 0.3 percent at $16.96 an ounce and platinum XPT= fell 2.1 percent to $916.

Palladium XPD= rose 0.7 percent to $740.75 an ounce, after reaching its lowest since mid-November in the previous session.

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