Gold falls as strong U.S. data boosts rate-hike expectations

REUTERS - Gold fell on Friday to extend losses of nearly 1 percent from the previous session, with the dollar firming following robust U.S. economic data that boosted expectations of a U.S. rate hike.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold was down 0.6 percent at $1,223 per ounce by 0110 GMT. On Wednesday, the metal touched its highest since Nov. 11 at $1,244.67.

* U.S. gold futures dropped 1 percent to $1,224.40 an ounce.

* Data showing rising U.S. wholesale inventories and an unexpectedly low number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits pushed up the dollar . and U.S. bond yields.

* The dollar index was firm at 100.680.

* Chicago Federal Reserve President Charles Evans, a voter on policy this year, told reporters it is reasonable to expect the Fed to raise rates three times this year.

* However, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said interest rates can likely remain low through at least 2017, with no clear sense yet of whether the Trump administration's policies will spark higher inflation or growth.

* Investors added $7.5 billion in cash to U.S.-based taxable bond funds during the week through Feb. 8, Lipper data showed on Thursday, marking the sixth straight week of inflows.

* The expected demise of transparency regulations for minerals and oil companies listed in the United States will not cloud the global drive for financial clarity in extractive industries, company executives told Reuters at an Africa mining conference.

* The World Gold Council has appointed former Paulson & Co executive John Reade as its chief market strategist, the WGC said in a statement on Thursday.

* Germany's central bank is bringing home gold reserves stored in places like New York and Paris faster than planned, it said on Thursday, as confidence in the euro ebbs even in the heart of the currency bloc after a decade of a sluggish economy.

* Russian gold miner Nordgold said on Thursday it intended to de-list its global depositary receipts (GDRs) from the London Stock Exchange.

* Uncertainty over U.S. President Donald Trump's policies has driven up gold prices, but the effect may be limited to the short-term only, the head of Australia's biggest gold miner Newcrest Mining Ltd said on Thursday.

* Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, were unchanged on Thursday after rising for six straight sessions.

(Reporting By Nallur Sethuraman in Bengaluru)