Dec 22 (Reuters) - Gold edged higher on Tuesday as investors
focussed on the U.S. fiscal stimulus package that is set to be
voted on by Congress, with fresh restrictions forced by a new
coronavirus strain in the UK providing further support to the
metal.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= rose 0.1% to $1,878.72 per ounce by 0038
GMT. U.S. gold futures GCv1 rose 0.1% to $1,884.60 per ounce.
* A majority of the U.S. House of Representatives voted to
move a $900 billion coronavirus aid bill struck by Congressional
leaders for a vote on passage on Monday evening. * Economists expect the package to support the
pandemic-ravaged economy and set it up for a stronger recovery
next year as vaccines become more widely available. * A new coronavirus strain in the UK, thought to be 70% more
infectious, prompted a lockdown affecting more than 16 million
Britons and caused several countries around the world to shut
their borders to Britain, putting Asian shares on course for a
weaker start. MKTS/GLOB
* Meanwhile, the European Union geared up to start mass
vaccinations against COVID-19 just after Christmas after Pfizer
PFE.N and its German partner BioNTech's vaccines cleared
regulatory hurdles on Monday. * British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday there
were still problems in Brexit trade talks and that Britain would
thrive without a deal. * Holdings in SPDR's Gold Trust GLD , the world's largest
gold-backed exchange-traded fund, rose 0.2% to 1,169.86 tonnes
on Monday from 1,167.82 tonnes on Friday. * Silver XAG= rose 0.2% to $26.23 an ounce. Platinum XPT=
fell 0.5% to $1,004.51 and palladium XPD= gained 0.5% to
$2,319.46.
DATA AHEAD(GMT)
1330 US Q3 GDP Final
1500 US Nov. Existing Home Sales
2350 Bank of Japan releases minutes of monetary policy
meeting held on Oct. 28 and 29