Gold holds near seven-and-a-half-month peak as equities tumble

Gold stayed near its highest since June at close to USD 1,200 an ounce on Tuesday, buoyed by uncertainty over global growth that has kept stock markets under immense selling pressure.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold was flat at USD 1,191.10 an ounce by 0037 GMT. The metal, which thrives on instability in markets elsewhere, rose as high as USD 1,200.60 on Monday, its strongest since June 22 last year.

* Bullion gained 5 percent last week, its biggest such increase since July 2013, boosting gold bull expectations that the price can go higher as global headwinds could make it tough for the US Federal Reserve to raise interest rates this year.

* US gold for April delivery was off 0.4 percent at USD 1,192.70 an ounce.

* Economic uncertainty, a weak dollar and falling expectations for US interest rate hikes have spurred the biggest buying spree of gold exchange-traded-funds in nearly five years.

* An increasingly important gauge of US inflation tumbled last month to its lowest level since the New York Fed began the survey in mid-2013, in what could be taken as another warning bell for the US central bank.

* Sentiment in the euro zone deteriorated more than expected in February as concern about the global economy prompted investors to pare back their expectations to the lowest level since November 2014, a survey showed.

* Newcrest Mining suspended all mining and processing at its Gosowong operation in Indonesia after the underground section of the gold mine was damaged by a cave-in late on Monday, which trapped one of its workers.