PRECIOUS-Gold holds above $1,600 on fears over economic impact of virus

(Adds comment, graphic and updates prices)
* Palladium hits an all-time high of $2,841.54
* Dollar remains above a 4-month peak
* SPDR Gold Trust Holdings rise to over 3-yr peak
* Minutes from U.S. Fed's Jan. 28-29 meeting due at 1900 GMT

By Asha Sistla
Feb 19 (Reuters) - Gold prices held steady above the key
$1,600 mark on Wednesday as an uptick in equities due to a drop
in new virus cases was offset by fears of an economic fallout
from the epidemic.
Autocatalyst metal palladium, meanwhile, scaled yet another
record peak on a sustained supply shortfall.
Spot gold XAU= was little changed at $1,603.20 per ounce
by 0702 GMT, having surged to its highest since Jan. 8 at
$1,605.26 earlier.
U.S. gold futures GCv1 rose 0.2% to $1,606.50.
Asian shares and U.S. stock futures edged cautiously higher
as investors tried to shake off worries about the epidemic.
MKTS/GLOB
"The big wave of risk-off has sort of dissipated right now,
but still the economic fallout is buttressing the demand for
gold," Stephen Innes, chief market strategist at AxiCorp.
China reported 1,749 new cases, the lowest daily rise since
Jan. 29, bringing the total number of those infected to over
74,000, with 2,004 deaths. The U.S. dollar .DXY , also considered a safe-haven, scaled
a more than four-month high against key rival currencies. USD/
"The stronger dollar is not really curbing the inflows to
gold ... from an inflation perspective, a stronger U.S. dollar
is working against the U.S. Federal Reserve's inflation target
and is pointing towards lower interest rates," AxiCorp's Innes
said.
Investors await the minutes of the Federal Reserve's Jan.
28-Jan. 29 policy meeting, due at 1900 GMT.
Lower interest rates reduce the opportunity cost of holding
non-yielding bullion and also weigh on the U.S. currency.
Indicative of investor sentiment, holdings of the world's
largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust GLD ,
rose 0.6% to 929.84 tonnes on Tuesday, their highest since Nov.
11, 2016. GOL/ETF
"The short-term dynamics are very difficult to tell simply
because the market is in a position where it is considerably
over-bought and if we get (any) positive news it could possibly
trigger a downside move (in gold)," added Axicorp's Innes.
Deficit-hit palladium XPD= rose 3.9% at $2,738.02 an ounce
after having scaled a record high of $2,841.54 earlier.
"Another outstanding session for the white metal as
investors scramble amid further fears of a supply shortage
following Anglo American forecasting an increase deficit in
2020," MKS PAMP said in a note. Silver XAG= was up 0.6% to $18.27, having hit a more than
one-month high at $18.33, while platinum XPT= rose 0.6% to
$998.04.

<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Gold rises above $1,600 an ounce https://tmsnrt.rs/37Gncu7
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>