(Corrects spelling error in headline)
BENGALURU, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Gold prices edged higher early on
Thursday as the dollar eased amid a spike in risk aversion, while
palladium further bolstered its premium over the bullion.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold was up 0.2 percent at $1,240.04 per ounce at 0140
GMT.
* U.S. gold futures were up 0.3 percent at $1,245.7 per ounce.
* Spot palladium was up 0.2 percent at $1,245.50 per ounce.
* Palladium is more valuable than gold for the first time since
2002, with prices soaring by around 50 percent in less than four
months to record levels.
* The dollar index , which measures the greenback against a
basket of six major currencies, was lower about 0.1 percent.
* U.S. stock futures tumbled on Thursday and Asian markets
followed after Canadian authorities arrested a top executive of
Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies, fanning fears of further
tensions between China and the United States.
* The dollar, which has enjoyed an unrivalled surge against its
peers this year, will be undermined in 2019 on increasing concerns
about slowing U.S. economic growth, a Reuters poll of foreign exchange
strategists showed.
* Tariff-driven price increases have spread more broadly through
the U.S. economy, though on balance inflation has risen at a modest
pace in most parts of the country, the Federal Reserve said on
Wednesday in its latest report on the economy.
* China expressed confidence on Wednesday that it can reach a
trade deal with the United States, a sentiment echoed by U.S.
President Donald Trump a day after he warned of more tariffs if the
two sides could not resolve their differences.
* Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal came under fire from
allies and opponents alike on Wednesday after the government was
forced to publish legal advice showing the United Kingdom could be
locked indefinitely in the European Union's orbit.
DATA AHEAD (GMT)
0700 Germany Industrial orders Oct
1315 U.S. ADP national employment Nov
1330 U.S. International trade Oct
1330 U.S. Weekly jobless claims
1500 U.S. Factory orders Oct
1500 U.S. ISM non-manufacturing PMI Nov
2345 Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell gives brief
welcome remarks before the Housing Assistance Council
Rural Housing Conference
(Reporting by Eileen Soreng in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
((eileen.soreng@thomsonreuters.com; Within U.S. +1 651 848 5832,
Outside U.S. +91 80 6749 6131; Reuters Messaging: eileen.soreng.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))