Gold trades near two-week high on cooling US rate-hike bets

Gold prices held near a two-week high on Monday after a cooler-than-expected U.S. jobs report last week slightly tempered expectations of interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold TVC:GOLD was steady at $4,175.02 per ounce by 0028 GMT, after posting a weekly gain of more than 2% following four straight weeks of declines on Friday. U.S. gold futures TVC:GOLD for August delivery climbed 1.5% to $4,186.80 per ounce.

* Data on Thursday showed U.S. job growth slowed sharply in June and payroll gains for the prior two months were revised lower, pointing to a cooling labor market and prompting financial markets to dial back expectations for a near-term Fed rate hike.

* Traders now see about a 55% chance of a rate increase in September, down from more than 60% before the data, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

* Lower interest rates tend to be favorable to gold, as it is a non-yielding asset.

* The release of the minutes from the Fed's June 16-17 meeting, Kevin Warsh's first as Fed chair, on Wednesday will be in focus for investors later this week.

* JPMorgan said demand for gold from key sectors would not be as strong as it had expected, limiting the rise in gold prices this year to $4,300/oz in the third quarter and $4,500/oz in the fourth quarter.

* Physical gold demand in India eased on Friday after a modest pick-up earlier in the week, as prices rebounded from a three-month low, while buying interest in China improved slightly.

* Elsewhere, spot silver BIST:XAGUSD1! extended gains to a fifth session, up 0.1% at $62.4773 per ounce and earlier hitting its highest since June 23.

* Spot platinum NYMEX:PL1! added 0.4% to $1,645.05 per ounce and palladium BIST:XPDUSD1! was up 0.1% to $1,275.18 per ounce. Both these metals were on track for their fourth straight daily gain.