FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold was down 0.1% at $1,853.19 per ounce, as
of 0037 GMT, after climbing to its highest since Feb. 15 on
Friday. U.S. gold futures rose 0.3% to $1,859.60.
* The dollar index edged higher, making bullion less
affordable for buyers holding other currencies.
* Data on Friday showed the U.S. services sector grew at a
steady clip in February, with new orders and employment rising
to more than one-year highs, suggesting the economy continued to
expand in the first quarter.
* San Francisco Federal Reserve President Mary Daly said on
Saturday if data on inflation and the labour market continued to
come in hotter than expected, interest rates would need to go
higher, and stay there longer than Fed policymakers had
projected in December.
* Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin said on Friday he
could envision a scenario where the central bank pushes the U.S.
benchmark policy interest rate to the 5.5%-5.75% range.
* Money markets expect the Fed's target rate to peak at
5.442% in September.
* Underlying inflation in the euro zone will stay high in
the near term, so a 50 basis-point European Central Bank
interest rate increase later this month is increasingly certain,
ECB President Christine Lagarde told Spanish media group
Vocento.
* Although gold is considered a hedge against inflation,
interest rate hikes to bring down price pressures increase the
opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.
* Spot silver fell 0.2% to $21.20 per ounce, platinum lost 0.7% to $970.84 and palladium slipped 0.6% to
$1,443.65.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT) 0930 UK All-Sector PMI Feb 1500 US Factory Orders MM Jan (Reporting by Kavya Guduru in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
