April 9 (Reuters) - Gold prices rose slightly on Thursday
ahead of a U.S. weekly jobless claims report as the dollar
inched lower, while increasing appetite for risk on hopes that
the new coronavirus pandemic is nearing a peak limited the
metal's upside.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= rose 0.1% to $1,646.81 per ounce by 0059
GMT, resuming its march toward a near one-month peak scaled on
Tuesday. U.S. gold futures GCv1 eased 0.1% to $1,682.70.
* The dollar .DXY was down 0.1% against key rivals, making
gold cheaper for investors holding other currencies. USD/
* Asian shares were poised to track Wall Street's gains and
risk-sensitive currencies climbed on budding optimism the
pandemic may be peaking. MKTS/GLOB USD/
* New York, the hardest-hit state in America, on Wednesday
reported its highest number of coronavirus-related deaths in a
single day with even veteran doctors and nurses expressing shock
at the speed with which patients were declining and dying.
* The forced closure of businesses across the United States
and surge in unemployment will force U.S. growth to contract by
30% in the second quarter and 5% overall in 2020, Pacific
Investment Management Co wrote. * The minutes of the Federal Reserve's emergency meetings in
March showed policymakers trying to stay ahead of the rapidly
spreading pandemic with decisions that may shape the global
economy for decades to come. * The COVID-19 disease is still infecting and killing large
numbers of people across Europe and there is no sign yet that
the peak of the region's outbreak has been reached, the EU's
disease monitoring agency said. * Europe needs to show greater solidarity in its fight
against the coronavirus, European Central Bank President
Christine Lagarde said, as the bloc's leaders remain deadlocked
about a common response. * SPDR Gold Trust GLD , the world's largest gold-backed
exchange-traded fund, said its holdings rose 0.3% to 988.63
tonnes on Wednesday. GOL/ETF
* Palladium XPD= fell 0.5% to $2,164.40 an ounce, while
silver XAG= eased 0.1% to $15.03. Platinum XPT= gained 0.5%
to $733.30, having touched a more than three-week high in the
previous session.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0600 UK GDP Estimates MM, YY Feb
0600 UK Manufacturing Output MM Feb
1230 U.S. Initial Jobless Claims Weekly
1400 U.S. U Mich Sentiment Prelim April
1400 U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell gives
economic update in a webcast hosted by the Brookings Institution