Sept 5 (Reuters) - Gold was steady on Monday after climbing as much as over 1 percent in the last session as weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs data trimmed expectations of a Federal Reserve rate hike in September.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= was mostly unchanged at $1,323.64 per ounce by 0120 GMT. The metal rose 0.9 percent to $1,324.65 on Friday.
* U.S. gold futures GCcv1 were nearly flat at $1,327.40.
* U.S. employment growth slowed more than expected in August after two straight months of robust gains and wages were tepid. Still, Richmond Federal Reserve Bank President Jeffrey Lacker said on Friday that the U.S. economy appears strong enough to warrant significantly higher interest rates. Wall Street's biggest banks are sticking to bets that the Fed will raise interest rates once this year, and the increase would most likely occur in December after a tepid employment report for August quashed most talk of a move as early as this month. Asian physical gold demand improved slightly this week as a correction in prices prompted consumers to buy for the upcoming festival and wedding season, with discounts in India narrowing to the smallest in three months. Hedge funds and money managers reduced their bullish stance in COMEX gold contracts in the week to Aug. 30 to the lowest in nearly three months, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) data showed on Friday. Russia's largest gold producer Polyus PLZL.M is considering placing global depository receipts (GDRs) in London in the future, its chief executive said on Friday, less then a year after it left the London market. For the top stories on metals and other news, click TOP/MTL or GOL
MARKET REPORT
* Asian shares rose on Monday, getting a tailwind from gains on Wall Street. GLOB/MKTS
DATA AHEAD (GMT)
0755 Germany Markit Services PMI August
0800 Euro zone Markit Services final PMI for August
0830 Euro zone Sentix Index
0900 Euro zone retail sales for July