BENGALURU, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Gold prices were steady early Wednesday as the dollar edged up, while palladium dipped from record highs touched in the previous session but was in close proximity to the bullion.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= was at $1,236.85 per ounce at 0121 GMT. In the previous session, prices touched a peak of $1,241.86, their highest since Oct. 26.
* U.S. gold futures GCcv1 were down 0.4 percent at $1,241.4 per ounce.
* Palladium XPD= dropped 0.1 percent to $1,231.99 per ounce. Prices soared to a record high of $1,239.50 per ounce on Tuesday, fuelled by speculative interest and tight supplies of the autocatalyst metal, briefly surpassing the bullion.
* The dollar index .DXY , which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was marginally up by about 0.1 percent. USD/
* Asian stocks fell on Wednesday, dragged by Wall Street's tumble as sharp declines in long-term U.S. Treasury yields and resurgent trade concerns stoked investor worries about global economic growth. MKTS/GLOB
* One of the most influential Federal Reserve policymakers said on Tuesday he expects further interest rate hikes continuing next year since the U.S. economy is "in really good shape," reinforcing the Fed's upbeat tone in the face of growing doubts in financial markets. U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday held out the possibility of an extension of the 90-day trade truce with China, but warned he would revert to tariffs if the two sides could not resolve their differences. British Prime Minister Theresa May suffered embarrassing defeats on Tuesday at the start of five days of debate over her plans to leave the European Union that could determine the future of Brexit and the fate of her government. U.S. delivered Russia a 60-day ultimatum on Tuesday to come clean about what Washington says is a violation of an arms control treaty that keeps missiles out of Europe, saying only Moscow could save the pact. Senior U.S. senators said on Tuesday they were more certain than ever that Saudi Arabia's crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, was responsible for the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi after receiving a CIA briefing on the matter. AHEAD (GMT)
0145 China
Caixin services PMI
Nov
0745 France
Current account
Oct
0850 France
Markit services PMI
Nov
0855 Germany
Markit services PMI
Nov
0900 Euro zone
Markit services PMI final
Nov
1000 Euro zone
Retail sales
Oct
1315 U.S.
ADP (NASDAQ:ADP) national employment
Nov
1500 U.S.
ISM non-manufacturing PMI
Nov
1900 Federal Reserve issues Beige Book of economic
Condition