SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Gold climbed more than 1 percent on Monday to its highest in nearly two weeks on soft U.S. data and as holdings in the world's biggest gold exchange-traded fund rose for the first time in two months.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold had gained 1 percent to $1,328.91 an ounce by 0010 GMT, after advancing 0.2 percent on Friday as a weaker stock market increased its safe-haven appeal.
* U.S. gold added $16 to trade at $1,328.50. Comex silver rose 2 percent.
* SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings rose 0.2 percent to 911.13 tonnes on Friday - the first increase since June 10.
* U.S. wholesale inventories unexpectedly fell for a second straight month in June, prompting economists to trim their second-quarter economic growth estimates.
* Investors are watching economic data to gauge when the Federal Reserve bank will begin reducing its commodities-friendly stimulus measures. Weak data could prompt the U.S. central bank to hold back on the cuts.
* Wall Street closed out its worst week since June on Friday, pulling back from record highs as investors focused on the outlook for Fed stimulus.
* Hedge funds and money managers cut their net long positions in gold and silver in the week to August 6, a report by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed on Friday.
* Newcrest Mining
MARKET NEWS
* The dollar was a touch firmer in Asia on Monday as the euro took a knock from more aid rumblings over Greece, while technical signals were flashing oversold after almost five weeks of losses for the U.S. currency.
(Reporting by A. Ananthalakshmi)
