<div>Gold hit fresh three-month highs on Monday (17 February), adding to gained after posting its biggest weekly rise in six months, as fears over US economic growth and a weaker dollar sent investors seeking the safe-haven metal.<br /><br /><strong>Fundamentals</strong><br /><br />* Spot gold rose 0.3 per cent to $1,322.24 an ounce by 0026 GMT, after hitting $1,323.76 earlier in the session - its highest since November. The metal jumped 4 per cent last week, its biggest weekly gain since August.<br /><br />* US gold futures rose for a ninth session - their longest winning streak since July 2011.<br /><br />* US manufacturing output unexpectedly fell in January, recording its biggest drop in more than 4-1/2 years, as cold weather disrupted production in the latest indication the economy got off to a weak start this year.<br /><br />* Hedge fund Paulson & Co maintained its stake in the world's biggest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust, in the fourth quarter, even as others exited when bullion prices posted their biggest annual loss in 32 years.<br /><br />* SPDR Gold Trust's holdings fell 5.10 tonnes to 801.25 tonnes on Friday (14 February).<br /><br />* Hedge funds and money managers raised their bets in gold futures and options to a three-month high on signs that the Federal Reserve will not rush to cut its stimulus, Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed on Friday.<br /><br />* Gold premiums in India, the world's second-biggest consumer of the metal after China, fell 17 per cent on Friday to their lowest in four months as buyers postponed purchases on speculation over a possible cut in import duty soon.<br /><br />* Anglo American Platinum said it was suing South Africa's AMCU for 591 million rand in damages it said resulted from ongoing strike action by union members.<br /><br />(Reuters)</div>
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