Gold gains ground

Reuters

London

Gold rose on Tuesday, rebounding from a three-and-a-half-month low hit in the previous session, but remained on track for its biggest monthly decline since November on broad strength in the dollar and growing expectations of an imminent U.S. rate hike.

Spot gold was up 0.5 percent at $1,210.86 an ounce, having fallen by as much as 1 percent on Monday to $1,199.60.

That was its lowest since Feb. 17, pressured by strength in the dollar and a rise in global share prices, increasing investors´ risk appetite and leaving gold set for a 6.3 percent decline in May.

The lack of a physical demand base has exposed gold to some of the moves seen recently, Mitsubishi Corp analyst Jonathan Butler said.

U.S. data on Friday showed that hedge funds and money managers cut their bullish bets in U.S. gold futures and options to their lowest in almost two months.