Gold eases as U.S. dollar ticks up

Gold eases as U.S. dollar ticks up

Gold prices eased on Wednesday pressured by an uptick in the U.S. dollar, having risen 2% in the previous session following China's decision to further ease COVID-19 restrictions.

* Spot gold was down 0.2% to $1,809.58 per ounce as of 0037 GMT. U.S. gold futures fell 0.3% to $1,818.50.

* The dollar index edged up 0.1%, making greenback-priced gold more expensive for overseas buyers.

* Bullion prices jumped to their highest level in six months on Tuesday on optimism surrounding decisions by top consumer China to further ease COVID-19 restrictions.

* SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings rose 0.6% to 918.51 tonnes on Tuesday.

* The price of gold in Egypt has risen to unprecedented highs as nervous savers seek refuge from a weakening currency and some companies export bullion to raise scarce dollars to fund imports, according to industry experts.

* Spot silver lost 0.4% to $23.95, platinum slipped 0.5% to $1,015.17 and palladium fell 0.5% to $1,821.28.

* Japanese factories slashed output for a third consecutive month in November, dragged down by weak demand for machinery products amid a deteriorating global economic outlook.

DATA/EVENTS (GMT)

No major data/events expected on Wednesday, Dec. 28 (Reporting by Ashitha Shivaprasad in Bengaluru; Editing by