Gold hovers around US$1,640

Gold hovered near US$1,640 an ounce on Monday after data showed stabilising factory activities in China, while investors focused on a US Federal Reserve policy meeting later in the week to gauge the health of the world's largest economy. Gold fell 1 percent last week, in tandem with equities and other commodities, as resurfaced fear about Spain's debt crisis raised concerns about global economic growth and dented risk appetite. China's factories stabilised in April as output ticked higher, new business rose from multi-month lows and export orders perked up, the HSBC Flash Purchasing Managers Index said, in line with expectations. "Gold doesn't seem to be trading on anything other than externally derived sentiment," said Nick Trevethan, senior commodity strategist at ANZ in Singapore.