Asia gold hits 1-month low on dollar, economic worries

Gold and silver fell to their lowest in more than a month on Monday as investors turned to the safety of the dollar after tumbling U.S. equities sparked concerns about the health of the global economy.

Fundamentals

* Gold hit a low around $1,713 an ounce and was standing at $1,720.21 by 0027 GMT, hardly changed from Friday, and down from an 11-month peak of $1,795.69 marked in early October. Silver tracked gold lower.

* U.S. gold for December slipped 0.15 percent to $1,721.50 an ounce.

* Hedge funds and other big speculators have cut their bullish bets on U.S. commodities to the lowest levels since the end of August, data showed on Friday, as global economic worries pushed prices off their peaks.

* European Union leaders face two months of tough bargaining on money, power and the future governance of the euro zone before they can boost confidence that the existential threat to the single currency has faded.

* China could stage a tepid economic rebound in the fourth quarter as higher public infrastructure spending nudges the world's growth engine out of seven consecutive quarters of cooldown, but growth will remain lethargic through 2013 a Reuters poll showed.

Market news

* The euro traded at $1.3019, having retreated from a high of $1.3140 last week. It was seen stuck in a $1.2800/3200 range for now.

* Asian shares fell on Monday as risk sentiment was dented by lacklustre earnings from leading U.S. companies, and a bigger than expected fall in exports from Japan, a key driver of the world's third-biggest economy.