Gold holds near seven-week low as fund outflows resume

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Gold was languishing near a seven-week low on Tuesday, after posting its first monthly drop of the year, as investors pulled money out of bullion backed exchange-traded funds in favour of riskier assets.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold eased 0.05 percent to $1,282.95 an ounce by 0025 GMT, after dropping nearly 1 percent on Monday. The metal hit a low of $1,282.04 in the previous session - its lowest since February 11.

* Outflows from SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, resumed after a two-day pause. Holdings of the fund fell 3.89 tonnes to 813.08 tonnes on Monday - the biggest outflow in more than a month.

* Gold transferred between accounts held by bullion clearers edged up to an average volume of 17.8 million ounces a day last month, recovering from a 3-1/2 year low hit in January, the London Bullion Market Association said.

* As regulators investigate the transparency of global financial benchmarks, bullion banks are contemplating a move to electronic platforms that would shed more light on the London gold fix, a widely used reference price, sources said.

* India will consider easing curbs on gold imports in consultation with the central bank, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said.

MARKET NEWS

* Asian shares were down slightly in early trade on Tuesday, as investors chose discretion over valour ahead of a key manufacturing survey from China even as Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's dovish comments eased concerns of an early start to rate hikes.

(Reporting by A. Ananthalakshmi; Editing by Ed Davies)