Gold drops after 4-day gain, weaker equities may support

MANILA (Reuters) - Gold edged lower on Wednesday after a four-day advance that had been fuelled as uncertainty over the fate of China's economy hit global equities.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold was down 0.3 percent at $1,136.51 an ounce by 0048 GMT, after touching a one-week high of $1,147.16 on Tuesday.

* U.S. gold for December delivery slipped 0.3 percent to $1,136.20 per ounce.

* Sustained losses in Asian equities could switch some funds to gold after data showed U.S. factory activity hit a more than two-year low in August, coming on the heels of a survey showing China's manufacturing sector shrank at its fastest pace in three years last month.

* The Federal Reserve will probably only gradually raise interest rates, irrespective of whether it decides to take the first step a few months earlier or later, Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren said.

* All eyes will be on Friday's U.S. nonfarm payrolls with economists saying strong employment growth in August could help cement expectations that the Fed will raise interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade at its next meeting on Sept. 16-17.

MARKET NEWS

* Asian shares slipped after weak manufacturing activity reports from both the U.S. and China sent Wall Street reeling, while the dollar steadied after steep losses.

(Reporting by Manolo Serapio Jr.; Editing by Joseph Radford)