Gold prices were steady in early Asian trade on Thursday, while the dollar edged higher and investors turned their attention to this week`s Federal Reserve meeting for clues on future interest rate hikes. FUNDAMENTALS

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* Spot gold xau

* U.S. gold futures gccv1

* Asian stocks rose on Thursday as investors, relieved to have moved past the U.S. midterm elections without any major political surprises, drove a Wall Street rally, while the dollar clawed back some of its earlier losses. [USD/][MKTS/GLOB]

* The dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, inched up 0.2 percent.

* The U.S. Federal Reserve began its policy meeting on Wednesday facing a shifting political landscape but little in recent economic data to alter plans for an interest rate increase in December and more to come next year.

* The Fed`s policy statement is scheduled to be released at 2 p.m. (1900 GMT) on Thursday, and analysts do not foresee major changes.

* The top Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives pledged a new era of congressional scrutiny over President Donald Trump on Wednesday, shrugging off White House threats of political warfare if Democrats launch investigations into his affairs.

* Trump on Wednesday forced out Attorney General Jeff Sessions a day after congressional elections, and vowed to fight if the U.S. House of Representatives` new Democratic majority launches probes into his administration.

* The chances of sealing a deal on Britain`s withdrawal from the European Union this month are receding, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said on Wednesday.

* The European Union would have to see a breakthrough on Brexit within a week if its leaders are to endorse any deal with Britain in November, several official and diplomatic sources in Brussels said on Wednesday.

* The president of the European Central Bank told the Italian finance minister at a closed-door meeting that Italy`s high debt requires a degree of fiscal discipline that goes beyond what is mandated by EU regulations, two EU sources said.

* SPDR Gold Trust , the world`s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell 0.19 percent to 755.23 tonnes on Wednesday from 756.70 tonnes on Tuesday.

DATA AHEAD (GMT)

* China Trade data Oct

0700 Germany Trade data Sept

0745 France Trade data Sept

1330 U.S. Weekly jobless claims

1900 U.S. Federal Reserve issues statement after two-day

policy meeting

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