Gold holds above four-month low as dollar slips after Fed

MANILA (Reuters) - Gold was steady and holding above a four-month trough on Thursday as the dollar softened after minutes from the Federal Reserve's last meeting showed they needed to see more signs of a strengthening U.S. economy before raising interest rates.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold was little changed at $1,156.81 an ounce by 0045 GMT, but off Wednesday's low of $1,146.75, the weakest since March 18.

* U.S. gold for August delivery slipped 0.6 percent to $1,156 an ounce.

* The minutes from the Fed's June 16-17 meeting show how the central bank continues to grapple with its plan to raise rates later this year, in the wake of mixed economic data domestically and market turmoil gathering steam abroad.

* The minutes underscored the view that a Fed rate hike would likely have to wait until at least September.

* In Asia, China's securities regulator banned shareholders with stakes of more than 5 percent from selling shares for the next six months in a bid to halt a plunge in stock prices that is starting to roil global financial markets.

* A race to save Greece from bankruptcy and keep it in the euro gathered pace when Athens formally applied for a three-year loan and European authorities launched an accelerated review of the request.

* Gold mining companies trimmed their global hedge book by 2.6 tonnes in the first quarter of 2015, after forward sales and options positions rose by the most in 15 years last year, an industry report showed.

* South Africa's Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union abruptly quit gold wage talks on Wednesday, raising the threat of strike action in a sector reeling from falling prices and rising costs.

* For the top stories on metals and other news, click [TOP/MTL] or [GOL/]

MARKET NEWS

* Asian equities extended losses as concerns over China's market turmoil spread,while the safe-haven yen shot to a seven-week high as global risk appetite ebbed. The U.S. dollar slipped following the minutes of the Fed's meeting. [MKTS/GLOB] [USD/]

(Reporting by Manolo Serapio Jr.; Editing by Ed Davies)