* Dollar index hits 20-year high
    * Speculators cut net long position in COMEX gold- CFTC
    * Heavy China platinum imports spur shortages elsewhere-
WPIC 

 
    By Ashitha Shivaprasad
    Sept 5 (Reuters) - Gold prices were steady on Monday, having
posted their best day in a month in the last session after a
U.S. jobs report showed unemployment rising in August,
suggesting the Federal Reserve might slow the pace of rate
hikes.
    Spot gold        was flat at $1,711.69 per ounce by 0352
GMT). U.S. gold futures        were little changed at $1,723.10.
    Gold rose as much as 1.3% on Friday after data showed U.S.
employers hired more workers than expected in August, but
moderate wage growth and a rise in the unemployment rate to 3.7%
suggested the labor market was starting to loosen.             
            
    "With the Fed meeting just over two weeks away and their
'blackout period' fast approaching, any comments from Fed
members this week will be scrutinised by traders as they have
the ability to move the needle on Fed policy," said Matt
Simpson, a senior market analyst at City Index.
    "Any comments alluding to a 75 bp hike could keep gold
prices under pressure."           
    Fed's next policy meeting is scheduled for Sept. 20-21.
    Gold tends to perform badly amid a high-interest rate
environment as it yields no interest.
    The dollar index        hit a 20-year high, making gold
expensive for holders of other currencies.       
    Speculators cut net long position in COMEX gold by 9,599
contracts to 20,726 in the week to Aug. 30, while net short
position increased in COMEX silver, the U.S. Commodity Futures
Trading Commission (CFTC) said on Friday.             
    Spot silver        was steady at $18.03 per ounce, platinum
       unchanged at $835.24 per ounce, while palladium       
gained 0.4% to $2,031.18. 
    Stronger-than-expected platinum shipments to China in the
first half of the year spurred shortages elsewhere, as supply
declined from mines and recycling, the World Platinum Investment
Council said.             

 (Reporting by Ashitha Shivaprasad and Eileen Soreng in
Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)