SINGAPORE, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Gold steadied near a three-month high on Tuesday, as investors pushed back expectations of a Federal Reserve interest rate hike to next year and on a weaker dollar.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= was little changed at $1,161.96 an ounce by 0037 GMT, after a two-day rally. It hit a three-month high of $1,169 in the previous session.
* The dollar languished around three-week lows against a basket of currencies. USD/
* The Fed was expected to raise U.S. rates for the first time in nearly a decade this year, but recent weak U.S. data, concerns over Chinese growth and volatility in financial markets have prompted markets to shift rate hike views to early 2016.
* The U.S. central bank refrained from hiking rates at its last meeting in September. It holds two more policy meets in 2015: on Oct. 27-28, and then in December.
* Higher rates could dent demand for non-interest-paying bullion, while boosting the dollar.
* The Fed should hold off on any rate hike until it is clear that a global slowdown, trouble in China and other international risks will not push the U.S. recovery off course, Fed Governor Lael Brainard said on Monday in one of the strongest defenses yet of a go-slow approach to rate policy. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N12C0YA
* There could be sufficient economic data for the Fed to consider a rate hike at their meeting later in October but there will be a lot more data on hand in time for the December meeting, Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart said on Monday. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N12C0L9
* In other industry news, Mitsui 8031.T will close its precious metals businesses in London and New York at the end of this year, two sources familiar with the situation said, due to sliding commodity prices and more stringent regulation. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N12C1AL
* Among other precious metals, silver XAG= dipped 0.2 percent to $15.79 an ounce, though it wasn't too far from a 3-1/2-month high of $16.10 hit last week.
* Platinum XPT= fell about 1 percent after hitting a one-month high of $998.50 an ouncein the previous session. Palladium XPD= also eased.
* For the top stories on metals and other news, click TOP/MTL or GOL
MARKET NEWS
* Crude oil futures tumbled on Monday on profit-taking and a report of higher OPEC production, while pressure lingered on the U.S. dollar as markets priced the possibility that the Fed would not begin a tightening cycle this year. MKTS/GLOB
DATA AHEAD (GMT)
China Trade data Sep
0600 Germany Wholesale price index Sep
0900 Germany ZEW economic sentiment Oct
1000 U.S. NFIB business optimism Sep
PRICES AT 0037 GMT Metal
Last
Change Pct chg
Spot gold
1161.96
-1.64
-0.14 Spot silver
15.79
-0.03
-0.19 Spot platinum
985.2
-7.8
-0.79 Spot palladium
687.75
-2.25
-0.33 Comex gold
1161.9
-2.6
-0.22 Comex silver
15.805 -0.059
-0.37
COMEX gold and silver contracts show the most active months