PRECIOUS-Gold rises as concerns over U.S. stimulus dent risk appetite

(Updates prices)
* Bank of England cuts interest rates, markets eye Fed move
* Asian equities, U.S. Treasury yields and dollar drift
lower
* More than 117,100 people infected by coronavirus globally

By K. Sathya Narayanan
March 11 (Reuters) - Gold rose 1% on Wednesday after a steep
fall in the previous session, as doubts about a stimulus package
proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump to soften the economic
impact of the coronavirus epidemic weighed on risk sentiment.
Spot gold XAU= was up 0.7% at $1,661.21 per ounce by 0803
GMT, having fallen nearly 2% on Tuesday on hopes for global
stimulus measures. U.S. gold futures GCcv1 gained 0.1% to
$1,661.70. The White House and Congress negotiated measures on Tuesday
to bolster the U.S. economy and Americans' paychecks against the
epidemic's impact, although there was no immediate sign of a
deal. "Risk sentiment has turned sour ... the market is pretty
disappointed by Trump's delay of the stimulus package, which he
had promised on Tuesday," CMC Markets analyst Margaret Yang Yan
said.
Asian shares and Wall Street futures fell as growing
scepticism about Washington's stimulus package knocked the steam
out of an earlier rally. MKTS/GLOB
A central feature of the legislative proposal is payroll tax
relief, although the extent and duration of the proposal were
unclear.
Further supporting bullion, U.S. 10-year Treasury yields
drifted lower, resuming their march towards a record low touched
on Monday, while the dollar index .DXY also fell. US/ USD/
More than 117,100 people have been infected globally by the
virus. Central banks, meanwhile, were seen stepping up efforts to
combat the economic fallout of the epidemic. The Bank of England
unexpectedly cut interest rates on Wednesday, after the U.S.
Federal Reserve slashed its benchmark rates in an emergency move
last week. FEDWATCH BOEWATCH
European Central Bank head Christine Lagarde will
participate in a video conference of the EU's 27 leaders to
discuss measures to counter the virus impact, the Council of the
European Union said in a tweet. Holdings in the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded
fund (ETF), SPDR Gold Trust GLD , slipped 0.2% to 962.03 tonnes
on Tuesday, but were still near their highest in more than three
years. GOL/ETF
"ETFs are reflecting investment. We might have some inflows
and outflows day to day but the overall increase is quite
strong," said Soni Kumari, a commodity strategist at ANZ, adding
that the lower interest rates environment and safe-haven demand
were boosting inflows into ETFs.
Lower interest rate reduces the opportunity cost of holding
non-yielding bullion.
Elsewhere, palladium XPD= fell 3.1% to $2,345.94 per
ounce, while platinum XPT= was up 0.7% to $875.00. Silver
XAG= rose 1% to $17.03 per ounce.