Gold falls to over 10-month low as Fed signals more hikes in 2017

(Reuters) - Gold prices fell on Thursday to a new low in more than 10 months as the dollar surged after the U.S. central bank raised interest rates for the first time in a year and signalled further rate hikes for 2017.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold > edged 0.4 percent lower to $1,139.54 an ounce by 0108 GMT. The bullion touched a new low of 1,134.71 an ounce, its lowest since Feb. 3. The yellow metal fell over one percent in the prior session.

* U.S. gold futures fell nearly 2 percent to $1,141.80 per ounce. The prices fell to $1,136.4 an ounce earlier in the session to their lowest since Feb. 1 and registered their biggest percentage fall in one month.

 

* The dollar index <.DXY>, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, was up 0.7 percent at 102.490. The dollar hovered near a 14-year peak against a basket of major currencies on Thursday. [USD/]

* The U.S. Federal Reserve raised interest rates on Wednesday and signalled a faster pace of increases in 2017 as central bankers adapted to the incoming Trump administration's promises of tax cuts, spending and deregulation.

* U.S. retail sales barely rose in November and industrial production recorded its biggest drop in eight months, suggesting some loss of momentum in economic growth in the fourth quarter.

* Holdings of the SPDR Gold Trust , the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, fell 0.80 percent to 849.44 tonnes on Wednesday. [GOL/ETF]

* Human rights groups on Wednesday welcomed a decision by Thailand to close the country's only active gold mine by the end of the year as the mine's operator said it had laid off the employees.

* The amount of gold dug up by people working informally in Mali could soon rival official production thanks to demand from domestic refineries, officials in the West African nation say.

* Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd said on Wednesday it had resumed concentrate shipments from its giant copper-gold Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia following talks with Chinese and Mongolian authorities.

(Reporting by Swati Verma in Bengaluru)