Gold crawls up as dollar retreats

Gold inched up on Wednesday after hitting a 7-week low in the previous session, as the dollar pulled back from a 1-1/2-month high against a basket of currencies.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold XAU= had risen 0.3 percent to $1,275.10 an ounce by 0049 GMT. It touched its lowest since mid-August at $1,267.76 on Tuesday.

* U.S. gold futures GCcv1 for December delivery were also up 0.3 percent at $1,278 per ounce.

* The dollar on Wednesday shed 0.2 percent against a basket of major currencies .DXY after touching its best since mid-August on Tuesday [USD/]

* The three major U.S. stock indexes and the Russell 2000 posted record high closes for the second straight day on Tuesday, helped by gains in airlines and as carmakers rose after strong September vehicle sales.

* Major automakers on Tuesday posted higher U.S. new vehicle sales in September as consumers in hurricane-hit parts of the country replaced flood-damaged cars, extending a rally in their shares that began when Hurricane Harvey hit southeast Texas in late August.

* Britain wants to negotiate a Brexit agreement with the European Union, but is ready to walk away with no deal, Brexit minister David Davis said on Tuesday, warning that any error in the talks could cost them billions of pounds.

* The European Central Bank bought fewer German bonds than it should have for a sixth straight month in September, a sign that it may be saving ammunition for an extension of its stimulus programme well into next year.

* Japanese companies’ inflation expectations eased slightly in September from three months ago in a worrying sign the economy continues to struggle with a deflationary mindset.

* The Perth Mint’s sales of gold products doubled in September from a month earlier, while silver sales surged 78 percent, the mint said in a blog post on its website on Tuesday.