Gold steady as dollar hovers near ten-month lows

BENGALURU (Reuters) - Gold held firm on Thursday as the U.S. dollar hovered near 10-month lows on bets that central banks in Europe and Britain are preparing to scale back monetary stimulus.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold was nearly flat at $1,249.58 per ounce at 0041 GMT.

* U.S. gold futures for August delivery rose 0.1 percent to $1,249.70 per ounce.

* The U.S. dollar languished at its lows for the year on Thursday as a drumbeat of hawkish comments from major central banks signalled the era of easy money might be coming to an end for more than just the United States. [MKTS/GLOB] [USD/]

* European Central Bank President Mario Draghi intended to signal tolerance for a period of weaker inflation, not an imminent policy tightening, when his comments sent the euro higher this week, sources familiar with Draghi's thinking said on Wednesday.

* Wall Street stock rallied sharply on Wednesday, with the benchmark S&P 500 index scoring its biggest one-day percentage gain in about two months, as financial and technology stocks led a broad market rebound.

* A rise in British interest rates is likely to be needed as the economy comes closer to running at full capacity and the Bank of England will debate when to do so "in the coming months", BoE Governor Mark Carney said on Wednesday.

* The top U.S. Senate Republican struggled on Wednesday to salvage major healthcare legislation sought by President Donald Trump.

* A computer virus wreaked havoc on firms around the globe on Wednesday as it spread to more than 60 countries, disrupting ports from Mumbai to Los Angeles and halting work at a chocolate factory in Australia.

(Reporting by Nithin Prasad in Bengaluru; Editing by Richard Pullin)