SINGAPORE, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Gold struggled on Wednesday to recover from two days of losses as the dollar jumped to its highest in nearly three weeks on expectations the Federal Reserve would hike U.S. interest rates this year.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= was steady at $1,124.05 an ounce by 0043 GMT, after dropping 1.3 percent in the previous two sessions.
* The metal's slide follows a rally last week that took it to a near three-week high after the Fed's move to stand pat on interest rates. However, the U.S. central bank has also said it would move to increase rates later this year for the first time in nearly a decade.
* The Fed will likely pull the trigger and hike interest rates in December, according to economists polled by Reuters who assigned a 60 percent probability of it happening. ID:nL4N11S25E
* Higher rates would dent demand for non-interest-paying gold, while boosting the dollar. A stronger greenback makes dollar-denominated gold more expensive for holders of other currencies.
* The dollar on Wednesday climbed to its highest since early September against a basket of major currencies, boosted by expectations of higher rates and the weakness in euro. USD/
* Gold also came under pressure after a sell-off in the commodities market on Tuesday, on lingering concerns over slower economic growth in China, the world's top metals, grains and energy consumer. ID:nL1N11S1J0
* SPDR Gold Trust GLD , the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings rose 0.18 percent to 675.80 tonnes on Tuesday. GOL/ETF
* Switzerland's gold exports to China and Hong Kong nearly doubled month-on-month in August, data from the Swiss customs bureau showed on Tuesday, while shipments to India reached their highest in five months. ID:nL5N11S112
* Among other precious metals, platinum XPT= was down for a fourth straight session on Wednesday, dropping to a 6-1/2-year low of $929 an ounce. Silver XAG= ticked up to $14.78 but largely holding on to a 3 percent drop overnight.
* For the top stories on metals and other news, click TOP/MTL or GOL
MARKET NEWS
* Asian stocks fell as global growth worries stung Wall Street. Fresh cracks in the commodities complex, amplified by drops in copper, raised concerns that a China-led slowdown may pose significant headwinds for riskier assets, particularly equities. MKTS/GLOB
PRICES AT 0043 GMT Metal
Last
Change Pct chg
Spot gold
1124.05
-0.55
-0.05 Spot silver
14.78
0.06
0.41 Spot platinum
932
-2
-0.21 Spot palladium
606.5
1
0.17 Comex gold
1123.5
-1.3
-0.12 Comex silver
14.75 -0.006
-0.04 Euro
1.111
DXY
96.448
COMEX gold and silver contracts show the most active months