Gold clouded by US stimulus doubts; short-covering cushions losses

SINGAPORE, Reuters (09/12) - Gold eased on Monday as markets continued to fret over when the United States would begin tapering its economic stimulus and as stronger equities dented the metal's safe-haven appeal, but short-covering by investors offered some support.

Spot gold had fallen 0.2 percent to $1,227.24 an ounce by 0020 GMT. The metal traded in a wide range on Friday, dropping sharply to five-month lows after strong U.S. jobs data but ending the day higher on short-covering. U.S. employers hired more workers than expected in November and the jobless rate hit a five-year low of 7.0 percent, raising chances the Federal Reserve could start ratcheting back its bond-buying stimulus as soon as this month. Chicago Fed President Charles Evans, who has been one of the most ardent supporters of the U.S. central bank's stimulus programme, said he was open to curtailing the purchases this month, although he would prefer to wait. SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell 3 tonnes to 835.71 tonnes on Friday. Hedge funds and money managers raised their bearish bets in U.S. gold futures and options close to a 7-1/2 year high in the week to Dec. 3, data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed. Speculators turned silver into a net short position for the first time since late June. Indian gold imports may fall 70 percent in the final quarter of 2013 from 255 tonnes in the year-ago period and are expected to be half usual levels at 500-550 tonnes next year if new import rules are maintained, a top trade body official said.