Gold prices hit over 3-month highs onTuesday, supported by technical factors after the precious metalbroke through strong resistance last week.FUNDAMENTALS* Spot goldrose 0.2 percent to $1,305 an ounce at0114 GMT, having hit its highest since Sept. 26 at $1,307.63earlier in the session.* Gold benefited from technically driven momentum afterclosing above its 100-day moving average last week and breachingstrong resistance at $1,300 on Friday.* U.S. gold futures inched down 0.2 percentto$1,307.20 an ounce. * Spot gold rose 13 percent last year to mark its best yearsince 2010. * Gold's gains coincide with the greenback, in which gold ispriced, sliding toward its worst year since 2003 last week,damaged by tensions over North Korea, the Russian scandalsurrounding U.S. President Donald Trump's election campaign, andpersistently low U.S. inflation. * The dollar remained out of favour having hit a three-monthlow against a basket of its peerson Friday. That broughtits losses for 2017 to 9.8 percent, its worse performance since2003. * U.S. Mint sales of American Eagle gold and silver coinsdropped to their lowest in 10 years in 2017, U.S. Mint datashowed on Friday. * Hedge funds and money managers raised their net longposition in COMEX gold for the second straight week in the weekto Dec. 26, and cut their net short position in silver slightly,U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed on Friday.* A rally in gold prices to the highest level in a month andthe year-end holiday mood dampened demand across Asia last week. (Reporting by Nallur Sethuraman in Bengaluru; editing byRichard Pullin)Read full news