Gold near six-month high as Ukraine, China prompt safe-haven bids

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Gold was trading near its highest level in six months on Thursday as investors sought to hedge their bets against geopolitical tensions in Ukraine and economic slowdown fears in China.

FUNDAMENTALS

Spot gold was trading flat at $1,365.10 an ounce by 0017 GMT, after jumping 1.3 percent on Wednesday. The metal reached $1,370.60 in the previous session - its highest since September 19.

The EU agreed on a framework on Wednesday for its first sanctions on Russia since the Cold War, a stronger response to the Ukraine crisis than many expected and a mark of solidarity with Washington in the drive to make Moscow pay for seizing Crimea.

Markets are eyeing more economic data from China on Thursday to determine the state of the economy, after a recent bond default and a weak exports report sent equities and base metals lower. Gold is seen as a safe-haven asset.

SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell 1.50 tonnes to 811.20 tonnes on Wednesday.

India's biggest jewellery retailer Titan Co Ltd hopes to start exports in the next fiscal year to perk up sales that have been dampened by the country's strict curbs on gold imports, a senior company official said.

(Reporting by A. Ananthalakshmi; Editing by Michael Perry)