PRECIOUS-Gold wins because fears of the US recession are more and more attractive

March 25 (Reuters) – Gold prices rallied on Monday because of fears of a potential US recession and slowing global growth weighing on equity markets heightened appetite for safer badets.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold was up 0.1% to $ 1,314.21 an ounce at 0:28 GMT.

* Metal posted its third consecutive weekly gain and rose 1%, its highest level since the week ending February 1st.

* Gold futures in the US increased 0.2% to $ 1,314.40 ounce.

* Investors abandoned stocks on Monday and fled to bond security, while the Japanese yen hit a six-week high as risky badets faltered as worries escalated over an imminent recession in the US United States, leading to a fall in global yields.

* US markets were clearly warned of the recession on Friday as the gap between 3-month Treasury bill and 10-year note yields fell below zero for the first time since 2007 after United States have not been estimated.

* Manufacturing activity in the United States unexpectedly slowed in March, a worrying sign for the economy, although the housing market is showing signs of falling interest rates.

* Eurozone companies performed well below expectations this month, with activity at the fastest pace in almost six years, penalized by a sharp drop in demand, revealed an investigation Friday.

* British Prime Minister Theresa May had crisis talks with senior colleagues and hard Brexiteers on Sunday to try to give new impetus to her European divorce agreement which was beaten twice after reports that her cabinet was considering to reverse it.

* US President Donald Trump said the trade talks with China are progressing and that a final deal "would probably arrive", adding that his call to maintain tariffs on imported Chinese products for a while did not mean not that the negotiations were in trouble.

* Hedge funds and money managers increased their COMEX gold bulls from 15,971 contracts to 57,746 in the week to March 19, the US Commodity Futures Commission (CFTC) announced Friday. .

* Demand for physical gold declined this week in India, with many jewelers delaying their purchases before the end of the fiscal year to pay their advance taxes, while Singapore premiums increased slightly due to tight supply .

* SPDR Gold Trust, the largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund in the world, said its holdings rose 0.4% on Friday. (Report by K. Sathya Narayanan in Bengaluru, edited by Rashmi Aich)