FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold firmed 0.1% to $1,718.97 per ounce, by 0041 GMT, while U.S. gold futures dipped 0.1% to $1,716.70.
* Wall Street equities fell and U.S. Treasuries rallied on Tuesday, a day before a likely Federal Reserve rate hike as investors grappled with growing economic concerns with signs of a looming gas supply crisis in Europe. [MKTS/GLOB]
* The U.S. central bank is widely expected to raise interest rates by another 75 basis points at the conclusion of its policy meeting on Wednesday.
* Higher interest rates and bond yields increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.
* The dollar eased slightly after a sharp rise on Tuesday. A weaker dollar helps gold's appeal among buyers holding other currencies. [USD/]
* U.S. consumer confidence dropped to a near 1-1/2-year low in July amid persistent worries about increasing inflation and higher rates, which could undercut spending, pointing to slower economic growth at the start of the third quarter.
* The global economy is in the grips of a serious slowdown, with some key economies at high risk of recession and only sparse meaningful cooling in inflation over the next year, according to Reuters polls of economists.
* Spot silver rose 0.4% to $18.68 per ounce, platinum gained 0.3% to $876.22, and palladium firmed 0.4% to $2,017.56.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0130 Australia CPI QQ, YY Q2
0130 Australia RBA Weighted Medn CPI QQ ,YY Q2
0130 Australia RBA Trimmed Mean CPI QQ ,YY Q2
0500 Japan Leading Indicator Revised May
1230 US Durable Goods June
1800 US Federal Open Market Committee announces its decision on interest rates followed by statement
(Reporting by Bharat Govind Gautam in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh.V)
