Gold dips to one-month low as dollar strengthens

By Eileen Soreng

(Reuters) - Gold prices fell to their lowest in one month as the dollar strengthened amid expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve is on track to tighten borrowing costs.

Spot gold fell 0.3 percent to $1,205.86 per ounce at 0746 GMT, having touched a one-month low of $1,205 earlier in the session.

"The dollar is gaining strength after last week's Fed meeting and positive U.S. economic data, which is weighing on non-yielding assets like gold," said Hareesh V, head of commodity research at Geojit Financial Services.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was up 0.5 percent. The greenback climbed to a more than 16-month peak earlier in the session, making bullion more expensive for holders of other currencies.

The Fed has reaffirmed its plan to raise interest rates in December, followed by two more potential rate hikes by mid-2019 on the back of an upbeat economy and rising wage pressures.

The outlook for tighter credit was supported by an unexpectedly big rise in U.S. producer prices in October, at the fastest pace in six years.

"It seems like the bears are back in control... It's disappointing that every time gold starts to rally it runs out of steam so fast," a Hong Kong-based trader said.

The precious metal has fallen more than 11 percent from its April peak after investors preferred the dollar as the U.S.-China trade war unfolded against a background of higher U.S. interest rates.

Higher U.S. interest rates tend to boost the dollar and also push up bond yields, reducing the appeal of non-yielding bullion.

Spot gold is expected to test a support at $1,201, with a good chance of breaking below this level and falling more to $1,192, said Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao.

Hedge funds and money managers cut their net short position in gold by 8,136 contracts to 37,486 contracts, data showed.

In other precious metals, silver was up 0.1 percent at $14.17 per ounce. Prices fell to their lowest level since Sept. 18 at $14.06 in the previous session.

Palladium fell 0.2 percent to $1,113.92 per ounce.

Platinum was down 0.1 percent at $848.50 an ounce.

(Reporting by Eileen Soreng in Bengaluru; editing by Richard Pullin, Amrutha Gayathri)