PRECIOUS-Gold ticks up as coronavirus worries deepen, Fed minutes eyed

(Updates prices)
* Dollar recovers after overnight drop
* Coronavirus infections cross 1.38 mln globally

By Brijesh Patel
April 8 (Reuters) - Gold edged higher on Wednesday as the
rising coronavirus death toll hammered risk sentiment, while
investors were waiting for the release of the U.S. Federal
Reserve's policy meeting minutes for clues on further stimulus
measures.
Spot gold XAU= was up 0.1% at $1,649.66 per ounce by 1237
GMT, after climbing to its highest since March 10 on Tuesday at
$1,671.40.
U.S. gold futures GCcv1 dropped 0.5% to $1,675.30 per
ounce.
"The gold market is quite anxiously waiting for OPEC+
meeting results, which could go either way. On the other hand,
we cannot say whether the pandemic in Europe and the U.S. has
calmed or finished yet, there is still uncertainty," said Bank
of China International analyst Xiao Fu.
"People are also waiting for FOMC minutes to see whether
there will be any indication of a next round of stimulus, we're
in extremely volatile times and there could be some policy
surprises."
European stock markets snapped a two-day rally, as the
coronavirus death toll rose in some of the worst-hit parts of
the continent. .EU
More than 1.38 million people have been reported as infected
by the novel coronavirus across the world and 81,451 have died,
according to a Reuters tally. New York state, the U.S. epicentre of the pandemic, reported
its sharpest single-day jump in fatalities and Spain's daily
toll of deaths rose for the first time in five days.
The outbreak has prompted nations to extend lockdowns and
roll out unprecedented fiscal and monetary stimulus to combat
the economic damage.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday declared a
state of emergency to fight the outbreak and rolled out a near
$1 trillion stimulus package to soften the economic blow.

"In the mid to long term, gold has upside due to
quantitative easing and monetary stimulus efforts by global
central banks," said CMC Markets analyst Margaret Yang Yan.
However, safe-haven gains for the U.S. dollar have limited
gold's advance, with the dollar index .DXY up 0.2%. USD/
Markets are looking to the release at 1800 GMT of the
minutes of the Fed's latest meeting that might give more clues
on the interest rate outlook.
Also on the radar is Thursday's meeting of members of the
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its
allies, including Russia, a group known as OPEC+, which could
result in further output cuts to shore up oil prices that have
tumbled.
Elsewhere, palladium XPD= climbed 1.6% to $2,209.11 an
ounce, while platinum XPT= gained 0.9% to $740.51.
Silver XAG= rose 0.3% to $15.04 an ounce, having touched a
more than three-week high in the previous session.