PRECIOUS-Gold eases as stronger dollar offsets U.S. stimulus aid boost

(Updates prices)
* Gold can correct to $1,850/oz-$1,860/oz- analyst
* Dollar gains, Asian shares slip on new COVID-19 strain
* Interactive graphic tracking global spread of coronavirus:
https://tmsnrt.rs/3mvcUoa

By Nakul Iyer
Dec 22 (Reuters) - Gold prices fell on Tuesday, hurt by a
stronger dollar that countered support from the U.S. Congress
passing a long-awaited COVID-19 stimulus bill, while some
profit-taking added further pressure.
Spot gold XAU fell 0.3% to $1,871.04 per ounce by 0819
GMT, U.S. gold futures GCv1 dropped 0.5% to $1,873.60 per
ounce.
There was some profit-booking after the United States passed
the stimulus bill and the dollar edged up, said Kunal Shah, head
of research at Nirmal Bang Commodities in Mumbai.
In the near term, gold can correct to $1,850-$1,860 levels
as all the positive news are priced in by the market, he added.
The U.S. Congress on Monday approved a $892 billion
coronavirus aid to support the pandemic-ravaged economy, with
President Donald Trump expected to sign the package into a law
soon. Pressuring gold, the dollar firmed as a new coronavirus
strain in Britain that prompted a lockdown and caused several
countries to shut their borders to Britain, clouded the global
economic recovery outlook and pushed Asian shares lower.
USD/ MKTS/GLOB
Gold has climbed over 23% this year, mainly driven by a raft
of pandemic stimulus measures that stoked fears of inflation.
The precious metal is often used as a hedge against inflation.
Though inflation has yet to materialise, the large amount of
low-yielding bonds underscores non-yielding gold's status as a
safe-haven asset, said Hitesh Jain, lead analyst at Mumbai-based
Yes Securities.
Gold should trade in a $1,850-$1,930 range in the near-term,
underpinned by pandemic developments, he added.
On the technical front, gold may revisit its Nov. 30 low of
$1,764.29 per ounce next quarter, according to Reuters analyst
Wang Tao.
Silver XAG= fell 1.3% to $25.82 an ounce. Platinum XPT=
slipped 1.6% to $993.50, while palladium XPD= rose 0.4% to
$2,316.48.