March 11 (Reuters) - Gold rose on Wednesday, recouping some
of the ground it lost a day earlier, as doubts regarding the
U.S. stimulus package dragged down Asian equities and U.S. stock
futures, and the dollar fell.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= was up 0.5% at $1,657.29 per ounce by
0054 GMT, having fallen about 2% in the previous session on
hopes for global stimulus measures to shield the world economy
from the effects of the fast-spreading coronavirus.
* U.S. gold futures GCv1 slipped 0.3% to $1,654.70 per
ounce.
* Asian shares and Wall Street futures fell as growing
scepticism about Washington's stimulus package to fight the
outbreak knocked the steam out of an earlier rally. MKTS/GLOB
* As U.S. coronavirus cases rose steadily, the White House
and Congress negotiated measures to bolster the U.S. economy and
Americans' paychecks against the outbreak's impact, although
there was no immediate sign of a deal. * The dollar resumed its descent against the safe-haven
Japanese yen and Swiss franc after a rebound the previous day as
nervous sentiment over the epidemic persisted. USD/
* The total number of infected cases in mainland China rose
to 80,778 as of Tuesday, while more than 116,000 people have
been infected globally, as the outbreak spread to more
countries, causing greater economic damage.
* Japan announced a second package of measures worth about
$4 billion in spending to cope with the fallout to the economy
of the outbreak, focusing on support for small and mid-sized
firms. * Britain's new finance minister, Rishi Sunak, will pledge
billions of pounds to fight the impact of the epidemic on
Wednesday, and the Bank of England might add its firepower to
the attempt to stave off the risk of a new recession.
* The euro zone economy grew at a snail's pace in the fourth
quarter, figures confirmed, as investments and consumer and
government spending just offset the impact of a sharp rise in
imports. * SPDR Gold Trust GLD , the world's largest gold-backed
exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell 0.18% to 962.03
tonnes on Tuesday. GOL/ETF
* Palladium XPD= fell 0.7% to $2,403.73 per ounce, while
platinum XPT= was up 0.2% at $870.18.
* Silver XAG= rose 0.9% to $17.02 per ounce.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0930 UK GDP Estimate 3M/3M (Jan)
0930 UK GDP Estimate MM, YY (Jan)
0930 UK Manufacturing Output MM (Jan)
1230 U.S. CPI MM, SA (Feb)