Gold fell further on Monday but could attract bargain hunters after posting its worst closing since June in the previous session as the dollar rallied against the euro on growing doubts about Europe’s ability to resolve its debt crisis.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold eased $4.21 to $1,852.95 an ounce by 0018 GMT, well below a lifetime high around $1,920 struck last week.

* U.S. gold fell $3.3 to $1,856.2 an ounce.

* Greece on Sunday slapped a new tax on real estate to plug a 2011 budget hole, please international lenders and secure a key new loan tranche as concerns mounted in Europe over its euro zone membership.

* Gold demand, which dropped in the second quarter of this year, is expected to strengthen by the end of 2011, driven by robust jewellery buying in India and China and recovery in investment demand, senior World Gold Council (WGC) officials said.

* Silver, bronze, ebony and plastics are seeing greater use in jewellery as surging gold prices put off price-conscious consumers, jewellery makers at an international trade fair said.

MARKET NEWS

* The Nikkei fell on Monday after Wall Street tumbled on a European Central Bank board member’s resignation and the bank’s monetary policy shift to a neutral bias.

* Oil fell by about $1 on Monday with a stronger dollar as investors shunned commodity risk because of Europe’s deepening sovereign debt crisis, while economic gloom dampened the outlook for energy use.

* The euro got off to a rocky start in Asia, falling to fresh six-month lows against the greenback and a 10-year trough on the yen as downside momentum picked up pace after several key technical levels gave way recently. – Reuters