* Gold jumps after three sessions of losses
* Dollar retreats from 16-month highs
* Platinum hits highest since July 9 (Updates prices)By Swati VermaBENGALURU, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Gold rose more than 1 percenton Thursday, rebounding from a three-week low touched in theprevious session, and spurred by the dollar's retreat frommulti-month highs.After falling for three days, spot gold gained 1.2percent at $1,229.21 per ounce by 1358 GMT. U.S. gold futures were up 1.3 percent at $1,231.30 an ounce.The dollar index , which measures the U.S. unitagainst a basket of six major currencies, fell 0.7 percent,
dropping from a 16-month high hit in the previous session on theback of continued U.S. economic strength. Gold had hit its lowest since Oct. 11 on Wednesday at$1,211.52 per ounce."Although a rally is not yet foreseeable, $1,250 will be thelevel to watch for should the dollar weaken further or equitiesdisappoint," Commerzbank analyst Eugen Weinberg said.Global stocks started the new month on firmer ground after abrutal October, while sterling rallied on reports that Britainand the European Union are close to a post-Brexit deal onfinancial services. Attention is turning to the U.S. congressional elections onNov. 6, which will determine whether the Republican orDemocratic party controls the U.S. Congress, with somepredicting increased market volatility on the outcome.
Friday's non-farm payrolls data, a key indicator of thestrength of the U.S. economy, will also be watched for furtherclues on the pace of Federal Reserve interest rate increases.Higher U.S. interest rates raise the opportunity cost ofholding non-yielding gold."Precious metals are seeing buying interest as the U.S.dollar index is posting sharp losses today," Kitco Metals senioranalyst Jim Wyckoff said in a note.Global gold demand rose slightly in the third quarter from ayear before as resurgent buying from central banks and retailconsumers balanced huge outflows from exchange-traded funds, theWorld Gold Council said. Holdings of the world's largest gold-backed exchange-tradedfund, SPDR Gold Trust , fell 0.12 percent to 754.06 tonneson Wednesday. Among other precious metals, platinum climbed 2.3percent to $854.80 per ounce, having touched its highest sinceJuly 9 at $855.40 earlier in the session.Silver jumped 2.8 percent to $14.61 per ounce, whilepalladium rose 1.4 percent to $1,093.70. (Reporting by Swati Verma and Sumita Layek in Bengaluru;Editing by Jan Harvey and Dale Hudson)
outside U.S. +91 80 6749 6356/1298 ; Reuters Messaging:swati.verma.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.