• Australian gold producers rise as much as 2.8%, marking their biggest intraday pct gain since August 10

• Gold prices inched higher in early Asian trade, supported by a softer dollar and recent economic data that curbed expectations of a U.S. interest rate hike next month [GOL/]

• Northern Star Resources rises 2%, while Evolution Mining climbs 1.5%

• YTD, sub-index down over 2%

(Reporting by Shruti Agarwal in Bengaluru)