Gold up on short covering as Deutsche Bank concerns ease

REUTERS - Gold rose slightly early Monday on short covering after a volatile session on Friday as concerns about Deutsche Bank's health eased.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold edged up 0.3 percent to $1,319.40 an ounce by 0151 GMT.

* U.S. gold futures were up 0.4 percent at $1,322.30 an ounce.

* Deutsche Bank is throwing its energies into reaching a settlement before next month's presidential election with U.S. authorities demanding a fine of up to $14 billion for mis-selling mortgage-backed securities.

* The absence of top consumer China, where markets are shut from Oct 1-9 for Chinese National Day holidays, is expected to keep trading volumes low.

* U.S. consumer spending fell in August for the first time in seven months while inflation showed signs of accelerating, mixed signals that could keep the Federal Reserve cautious about raising interest rates.

* Hedge funds and money managers raised their net long position in COMEX gold for the first time in three weeks in the week to Sept. 27.

* Holdings of the SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund fell 0.13 percent to 947.95 tonnes on Friday.

* A drop in gold prices prompted consumers to buy the precious metal, ahead of festivals in India, the wedding season and China's long National Day holidays, boosting demand in Asia.

* A judge in Argentina ruled on Friday to keep Barrick Gold Corp's operations at Veladero mine suspended, saying repairs were not sufficient to reopen it after a leak of processing solution containing cyanide earlier this month.

* Protesters blocking access to Goldcorp Inc's Penasquito gold mine in northern Mexico said on Friday they will not leave until there is an agreement with the company over demands for jobs and compensation for water use and environmental damage.

* Russia may announce an auction for the Sukhoi Log gold deposit in December and its results may be announced in January, RIA news agency quoted Natural Resources Minister Sergei Donskoi as saying on Friday.

(Reporting by Swati Verma in Bengaluru; Editing by Richard Pullin)