Reuters: PRECIOUS-Gold gains for 3rd session after record quarterly drop

* Short covering after biggest quarterly drop on record

* Gold bar premiums steady in Hong Kong

* SPDR holdings at lowest since February 2009 (Updates throughout, changes dateline from SINGAPORE)

LONDON, July 2 (Reuters) - Gold rose on Tuesday for a third straight session as investors interpreted the previous week's plunge to three-year lows as overdone, while looking for further indications of an end to U.S. monetary easing soon.

Traders were forced to cover their short positions and buy back metal that they had agreed to sell at a future date after gold logged its biggest three-month loss since at least 1968, according to Reuters data.

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