Gold dips as dollar pares losses, stocks hold ground

By Nithin ThomasPrasad and Koustav Samanta

BENGALURU (Reuters) - Gold slipped on Monday as investors shunned safe-haven assets, with Asian stocks remaining near two-year highs and the dollar rising from a nine-month low.

"Gold fell slightly as a rally in global stock markets saw investor appetite wane for the precious metal," ANZ analysts said in a note on Monday.

"The safe-haven buying that had pushed gold to an eight-month high earlier this month has slowly petered out, with risk-appetite improving in recent days."

Spot gold had fallen 0.4 percent to $1,235.91 per ounce at 0708 GMT. Bullion prices have slid steadily since hitting their strongest in nearly 8 months on June 6 at $1,295.97.

U.S. gold futures for August delivery dropped 0.5 percent to $1,235.90 per ounce.

The dollar index, which compares the greenback to a basket of major currencies, rose from a nine-month low on Monday. However, signs of central banks in Europe moving away from accommodative monetary policies kept the euro and sterling well bid, and capped gains for the dollar.

"Gold has had a disappointing (last) week, now barely trading above the 200-day moving average at $1,233 an ounce, and weakening against both the dollar and equities. The dollar could be a key driver short-term," said Jordan Eliseo, chief economist at gold trader ABC Bullion.

"Demand for physical in developed markets is soft, with U.S. Mint American Eagle sales in H1 2017 running at their weakest levels in a decade," he added.

U.S. Mint sales of American Eagle gold coins totalled 6,000 ounces in June, down 92 percent from June 2016 and bringing the tally for the first half of the year to 192,500 ounces.

U.S. consumer spending rose modestly in May and inflation cooled, according to Commerce Department data released on Friday, pointing to a slow-but-steady economic expansion that could still lead the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates by year-end.

Higher interest rates tend to boost the dollar and push bond yields up, putting pressure on gold prices by increasing the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.

Asian stocks held near two-years highs on Monday, while signs of stability in China's economy and a recovery in the European economy helped to boost global share prices in the first half of this year.

Among other precious metals, silver fell 0.1 percent to $16.55 per ounce.

Palladium climbed 0.5 percent to $845.30 per ounce, while platinum dropped 0.5 percent to $916.25 per ounce.

(Reporting by Nithin Prasad and Koustav Samanta in Bengaluru; Editing by Richard Pullin, Christian Schmollinger and Joseph Radford)