Aug 4 (Reuters) - Gold prices edged lower on Tuesday as the
dollar strengthened and risk appetite improved after positive
U.S. economic data, while fears over surging coronavirus cases
limited losses for the safe-haven metal.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= was down 0.2% at $1,973.54 per ounce by
0026 GMT. It hit an all-time high of $1,984.66 in the previous
session.
* U.S. gold futures GCv1 rose 0.2% to $1,989.20.
* The dollar index .DXY rose 0.1% against its rivals,
crawling further away from a more than two-year low hit last
week. A stronger greenback makes gold more expensive for holders
of other currencies. USD/
* U.S. manufacturing activity accelerated to its highest
level in nearly 1-1/2 years in July as orders increased despite
a resurgence in new COVID-19 infections. * Asian shares were on track to open higher on Tuesday,
after strong manufacturing data and gains in tech stocks boosted
global equities. MKTS/GLOB
* More than 18.19 million people have been reported to be
infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 689,871 have
died, according to a Reuters tally. * The World Health Organization warned on Monday that there
might never be a "silver bullet" for COVID-19 in the form of a
perfect vaccine and that the road to normality would be long.
* The top Democrats in the U.S. Congress and White House
negotiators on Monday said they had made progress in talks on a
new coronavirus relief bill. * The U.S. economy, battered by a resurgence in the spread
of COVID-19, needs increased government spending to tide over
households and businesses and broader use of masks to better
control the virus, U.S. central bankers said on
Monday. * Silver XAG= fell 0.1% to $24.22 per ounce, platinum
XPT= rose 0.2% to $918.50 and palladium XPD= gained 0.3% to
$2,090.21.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0130 Australia Retail Sales MM June
1400 US Factory Orders MM June