MUMBAI, Dec 23 (Reuters) - India gold futures extended gains for the third straight session on Tuesday as a weaker rupee made the dollar-quoted gold expensive, analysts said.
Traders awaited U.S. November data on new and existing home sales and third quarter GDP due later in the day for direction for the yellow metal.
The Indian rupee fell early on Tuesday on concerns that weak Asian stock markets could trigger foreign fund withdrawals. See ID:nBMA002053] "Profit-booking should come in at higher levels," said Vikas Vaid, assistant vice president at Asit C. Mehta Commodities Services Pvt Ltd.
The benchmark February gold MAUG9 rose by more than 2 percent in the previous session driven by strong global leads.
One can go short on gold at 13,100 rupees, with a target of 12,900 rupees and with a stop loss of 13,150 rupees, Vaid added.
Gold may trade in the range of 12,850-13,200 rupees for the day said an analyst at Hyderabad-based commodity brokerage.
Open interest for Feb gold on MCX was at 14,990 lots, up from 14,557 a day earlier. Volume on Monday was 45.5 kgs.
