FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold was up 0.1% at $1,871.52 per ounce, as of 0052 GMT. In the previous session, bullion prices marked their highest level since Nov. 16 at $1,873.91.
* U.S. gold futures edged 0.2% higher to $1,873.40.
* World shares slid on Monday while oil prices jumped to seven-year highs on warnings from the United States that Russia could soon invade Ukraine and investors scurried to buy safe-haven government bonds they mostly shunned so far this year.
* Bullion is usually perceived a hedge against geopolitical conflicts, and with simmering tensions surrounding Ukraine, spot gold has closed higher in nine of the previous 11 sessions.
* Also supporting bullion, benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yields eased, decreasing the opportunity cost of holding non-interest-paying gold.
* Japan’s economy rebounded in the final three months of 2021 as falling coronavirus cases helped prop up consumption, though rising raw material costs and a spike in new Omicron variant infections clouded the outlook.
* U.S. Federal Reserve officials continued sparring over how aggressively to begin upcoming interest rate increases at their March meeting, with a final inflation reading just ahead of the two-day session taking on potentially outsized importance.
* Among other precious metals, spot silver gained 0.2% to $23.87 per ounce, while platinum was up 0.2% at $1,030.11.
* Palladium rose 0.3% to $2,368.33, having hit its highest in nearly two weeks on Monday.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT) 0700 UK Claimant Count Unem Chng Jan 0700 UK ILO Unemployment Rate Dec 1000 EU GDP Flash Estimate QQ, YY Q4 1000 Germany ZEW Economic Sentiment Feb 1000 Germany ZEW Current Conditions Feb
