June 8 (Reuters) - Gold edged lower on Monday, extending
losses from the previous session on U.S. rate-hike concerns,
while renewed hostilities in the Gulf pushed oil prices higher,
fanning inflation concerns.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold fell 0.2% to $4,321.49 per ounce by 0124
GMT. Prices fell about 3% on Friday, hitting the lowest since
March 24, as a stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs report raised
bets for interest rate hikes.
* U.S. gold futures for August delivery were down
0.5% at $4,345.60.
* U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday he would tell
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to strike back
after Iran fired a salvo of missiles at Israeli targets in
retaliation for an attack on the outskirts of Beirut, news
outlet Axios reported.
* Oil prices rose more than $2 a barrel on Monday, deepening
concerns over inflation and interest rate hikes.
* Cleveland Federal Reserve President Beth Hammack said on
Friday that new jobs numbers show the labour market was roughly
in balance and near full employment, while continued high
inflation may require the Fed to raise interest rates soon to
contain it.
* The U.S. economy posted a third straight month of strong
job gains in May, confirming the labour market was gaining
traction after stumbling last year and giving the Fed more room
to keep rates steady amid rising inflation due to the Iran war.
* China's central bank increased its gold reserves for a
19th month in May, data from the People's Bank of China showed
on Sunday, with the country's gold reserves rising to 74.96
million fine troy ounces.
* Gold demand was subdued in India last week as buyers
stayed on the sidelines due to volatile overseas prices, while
premiums in China eased slightly.
* Gold speculators raised net long positions by 14,409
contracts to 111,341 in the week to June 2.
* Spot silver fell 0.4% to $67.52 per ounce, platinum
lost 0.2% to $1,773.69, while palladium rose 0.5%
to $1,231.51.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0600 Germany Industrial Orders MM Apr
0600 Germany Manufacturing O/P Cur Price SA Apr
0600 Germany Consumer Goods SA Apr
(Reporting by Pablo Sinha in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu
Sahu)
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