Gold prices decline for second session

BENGALURU, Oct 09 (Reuters): Gold prices eased for a second session on Tuesday as a stronger dollar and bullish US interest rate outlook outweighed support from an earlier equity market selloff.

Spot gold was down 0.1 per cent at $1,186.51 per ounce at 1006 GMT. On Monday, it fell 1.2 per cent in its biggest one-day percentage fall since Aug 15, also touching a more than one-week low of $1,183.19.

US gold futures edged 0.1 per cent higher to $1,190.20.

Europe battled to fend off a four-day losing streak for world stocks, after weary investors saw Asian shares stumble to a 17-month low and bond markets hit by a fresh bout of selling.

Adding on to the bleak outlook, the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday cut its global economic growth forecast for the first time since 2016, citing pressures from ongoing trade tussles between the US and China.

"Some of the main themes in gold markets are the US Federal Reserve rate hike, higher yields and dollar strength," said Jens Pedersen, senior analyst at Danske Bank. "At the same time, fragile emerging markets and higher oil prices will mitigate those headwinds."