Gold edges up as dollar eases; markets brace for Fed meeting

Gold on Tuesday inched up from its lowest in over two weeks as the dollar shed some of its gains from the previous session, with market focus on a two-day Federal Reserve meeting that kicks off later in the day.FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold was up 0.2 percent at $1,308.86 an ounce by 0044 GMT, after dropping to its lowest level since Aug. 31 at $1,304.10 in the previous session.

* U.S. gold futures for December delivery edged up 0.1 percent to $1,312.60 an ounce.

* The dollar index <.dxy>, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies was down 0.1 percent at 91.924. It eased 0.1 percent versus the yen after marking its highest since July 27 overnight.

* Asian shares wavered on Tuesday, bolstered by record highs on Wall Street but hobbled by uncertainty as traders waited on the Fed meeting for clues on U.S. monetary policy. [MKTS/GLOB]

* The Fed is set on Wednesday to announce the start of a plan to trim its $4.5-trillion portfolio of assets, much of it amassed in response to the 2007-2009 financial collapse, marking another milestone in bringing to an end the crisis-era measures.

* Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said on Monday that Brexit is likely to hurt Britain`s growth prospects in the short term and push up inflation as the country adjusts to life outside the European Union.

* Euro zone headline inflation hit its highest level in four months in August, official data showed on Monday, confirming the European Union statistics office`s earlier flash estimate.

* The U.S. military staged bombing drills with South Korea over the Korean peninsula and Russia and China began naval exercises ahead of a U.N. General Assembly meeting on Tuesday where North Korea`s nuclear threat is likely to loom large.

* Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump spoke about keeping pressure on North Korea with economic sanctions imposed through the United Nations, the White House said in a statement on Monday.

* SPDR Gold Trust , the world`s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings rose 0.63 percent to 843.96 tonnes on Monday from 838.64 tonnes on Friday. [GOL/ETF]

* Kinross Gold Corp , as expected, gave the go-ahead on Monday to spend more than $1 billion to expand two of its gold mines, including its Tasiast mine in West Africa.

(This article has not been edited by Zeebiz editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)