Gold down on profit-taking

BENGALURU, Jan 4 (Reuters): Gold prices fell on Thursday after hitting a 3-1/2-month high the session before, pulled down as investors took profits and as the US dollar firmed.

Spot gold was down 0.3 per cent at $1,308.82 an ounce at 0712 GMT. US gold futures dropped 0.6 per cent to $1,310 an ounce.

Spot gold marked its highest since Sept. 15 at $1,321.33 on Wednesday, but then dropped as the dollar recovered from over 3-month lows. It fell further after minutes from the Federal Reserve's December policy bolstered expectations for more US interest rate hikes.

Gold, which had rallied $85 from nearly five-month lows hit in mid-December, posted its first day of losses in nearly three weeks on Wednesday. "People are looking to lock in some gains after a pretty strong rally over the past weeks," said ANZ analyst Daniel Hynes.

"Geopolitical issues have certainly been a huge power point of the gold's rally into the year-end ... It is going to be a US dollar type story going forward with markets taking a neutral view."

The dollar was firm on Thursday in the wake of upbeat US data.

US factory activity increased more than expected in December, boosted by a surge in new orders growth, in a further sign of strong economic momentum at the end of 2017.