09 Dec Monday An Update from Reuters

Data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed that hedge funds and money managers raised their bearish bets in U.S. gold futures and options to near a 7 ½ year high in the week to Dec 3, another reason that short-covering rallies could emerge.

Gold prices have fallen about 27 percent this year amid a shift in investor money to equities and an improving U.S. economy.

Holding in SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, fell 3 tonnes to its lowest since early 2009 at 835.71 tonnes on Friday.

"USD 1200 an ounce remains a sensitive level for gold prices, as below this threshold, an additional 100 tonnes of ETP holdings become loss-making and, furthermore, this would… make 10 percent of global production vulnerable," Barclays said in a note.

-Reuters