SINGAPORE, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Gold rose to its strongest in more than a month on Monday as pessimism about the global economic recovery sparked safe-haven buying and pushed equities down, but a firmer U.S. dollar could cap gains. FUNDAMENTALS * Spot gold added $3.00 an ounce to $1,217.50 an ounce by 0049 GMT, having hit an intraday day high of $1,217.95 -- its highest since July 2. * U.S. gold futures for December delivery rose $3.2 to $1,219.8 an ounce, extending gains seen on Friday, when weak U.S. jobs data prompted investors to buy gold as an alternative investment. MARKET NEWS * Japan's Nikkei average fell 1.2 percent on Monday as figures showed Japan's economy slowed sharply from the previous two quarters and after U.S. stocks closed out their worst week in six with a whimper on Friday on poor economic data. [.T] [.N] * The U.S. dollar was holding most of last week's hefty gains in Asia on Monday with shares in the region likely to follow Wall Street lower and add to the general mood of risk aversion. [USD/] * Crude prices edged higher on Monday, rebounding from last week's one-month lows following data showing tepid economic growth in the United States, the world's top oil user. [O/R] DATA EVENTS - EZ Inflation, final yy Jul 0900 GMT - U.S. NAHB housing market indx Aug 1400 GMT - U.S. New York Fed manufacturing Aug 2030 GMT RELATED NEWS > Japan Q2 GDP up 0.1 pct q/q, well below forecast [nTKZ006490] > India PM says working hard to curb inflation [nSGE67E00X] > INTERVIEW-Euro zone growth remains gradual-Honohan[nSGE67E00K] > Germany sticks to debt target despite boom-fin min[nLDE67D03U] > France's 2010 growth could exceed 1.4 pct-minister[nLDE67D01U] > Italian minister sees higher GDP in 2010 - report [nLDE67E063] > US retail sales tepid, sentiment finds a footing [nN13180040] > Fed's Hoenig-Keeping rates low 'dangerous gamble' [nN13260474] Precious metals prices at 0049 GMT Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover Spot Gold 1217.50 3.00 +0.25 11.12 Spot Silver 18.20 0.12 +0.66 8.14 Spot Platinum 1522.25 2.25 +0.15 3.77 Spot Palladium 474.50 2.50 +0.53 17.02 TOCOM Gold 3369.00 -9.00 -0.27 3.38 12988 TOCOM Platinum 4233.00 -39.00 -0.91 -3.38 4308 TOCOM Silver 51.30 0.30 +0.59 -0.77 205 TOCOM Palladium 1319.00 0.00 +0.00 13.22 49 Euro/Dollar 1.2744 Dollar/Yen 85.80 TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce. (Reporting by Lewa Pardomuan; Editing by)

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