Gold rebounds from one-month low on U.S. manufacturing data

By Luc Cohen and Clara Denina

NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) - Gold rebounded from a one-month low on Friday, as weaker-than-expected U.S. manufacturing data counteracted the impact of a stronger dollar, but still looked set to post its third straight weekly loss.

Spot gold fell to its lowest since Dec. 1 at $1,168.25 an ounce after the dollar strengthened, but rebounded to $1,183.76 by 2:33 p.m. EST (17:33 GMT), up 0.2 percent.

The turn upward came after the Institute for Supply Management said its index of national factory activity fell to 55.5 in December.

That was the lowest reading in six months and well below expectations, raising speculation that the U.S. Federal Reserve would delay raising interest rates as economic weakness abroad begins to hamper the U.S. economy, said Eli Tesfaye, senior market strategist for RJO Futures in Chicago.

"Any kind of slowing down is bullish for the precious metals," Tesfaye said. "Gold is still showing a sign of strength even with a strong dollar."

Higher interest rates weigh on non-interest-bearing bullion.

Prices were heading for a 0.9 percent weekly decline, the third straight week of losses.

U.S. gold futures for delivery in February rose 0.2 percent to settle at $1,186.20 an ounce.

The rebound came after spot gold fell to a one-month low at $1,168 an ounce as the dollar rose to its highest level in nearly five years, mostly due to a lower euro, which hit a 4-1/2 year low after the European Central Bank fanned expectations it would take bolder steps on monetary stimulus later this month. [FRX/]

The dollar was up 0.9 percent against a basket of currencies.

Bullion ended 2014 down nearly 2 percent, following a 28 percent slump the previous year. Anticipated U.S. interest rate hikes and a recovering economy may strengthen the dollar's appeal in 2015. A stronger dollar makes gold more expensive for holders of foreign currencies.

Silver was up 0.13 percent at $15.66 an ounce after posting a 19.3 percent decline in 2014.

Platinum fell 0.7 percent at $1,194.10 an ounce, having fallen 12 percent last year.

With an 11 percent jump, palladium was the best-performing precious metal in 2014, mostly on supply concerns from top producer Russia. Prices were up 0.54 percent at $792.72 an ounce.

(Additional reporting by A. Ananthalakshmi in Singapore; Editing by Michael Urquhart, David Holmes and Meredith Mazzilli)