SINGAPORE, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Gold fell to its lowest level in four weeks on Monday, extending a sell-off to a fourth straight session, as investors feared the Federal Reserve would hike U.S. rates this year.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= eased 0.1 percent to $1,140.40 an ounce by 0029 GMT, after earlier dropping to $1,134.60, its lowest since Oct. 5.
* The metal had posted its worst weekly drop in nine weeks on Friday after the Fed surprised with a direct reference to its next policy meeting as a possibility for the first U.S. rate hike in nearly a decade.
* Gold had rallied last month on speculation that the softness in the global economy could prompt the U.S. central bank to delay the rate hike to next year. But the Fed's hawkish tone triggered a sell-off in the metal.
* Rising interest rates tend to weigh on gold because they lift the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.
* Traders have said the technical picture for gold has deteriorated, warning of further price drops.
* A decline in the dollar on Monday failed to offer any support for gold. USD/
* Investors are cutting back on their gold exposure.
* SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell 0.3 percent to 692.26 tonnes on Friday.
* Speculators trimmed a bullish bet in gold from an 8-1/2-month high in the week ended Oct. 27, while they hiked a net long stance in silver to the highest level on record , U.S. government data showed on Friday. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N12U2BW
* Physical buying wasn't strong enough to offer price support. Gold demand in Asia saw some uptick towards the end of last week, as lower prices attracted buyers. But local premiums remained largely unmoved, a sign that demand hasn't picked up in a significant way. GOL/AS
* U.S. Mint American Eagle gold coin sales slumped 73 percent in October, data showed on Friday. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N12U24K
* For the top stories on metals and other news, click TOP/MTL or GOL
MARKET NEWS
* Asian stocks dipped early on Monday following lacklustre Chinese data out over the weekend, while the dollar remained on the defensive against the yen after the Bank of Japan's decision to hold policy steady favoured the Japanese currency.
DATA AHEAD (GMT)
0145 China Caixin manufacturing PMI final Oct
0850 France Markit manufacturing PMI Oct
0855 Germany Markit manufacturing PMI Oct
0900 Euro zone Markit manufacturing PMI final Oct
1500 U.S. ISM manufacturing PMI Oct
1500 U.S. Construction spending Sep
PRICES AT 0029 GMT Metal
Last
Change Pct chg
Spot gold
1140.4
-1.6
-0.14 Spot silver
15.54
0.02
0.13 Spot platinum
981.2 -0.54
-0.06 Spot palladium
669.95 -3.55
-0.53 Comex gold
1140.4
-1
-0.09 Comex silver
15.545 -0.022
-0.14
COMEX gold and silver contracts show the most active months