Oct 26 (Reuters) -
Gold prices edged up on Thursday as the Middle-East conflict kept investors worried, with bullion standing firm despite a stronger U.S. dollar and bonds yields.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold rose 0.3% to $1,985.89 per ounce by 0137 GMT. U.S. gold futures were up 0.1% to $1,996.30.
* Israel kept up its strikes on Hamas targets in Gaza as it prepared for a ground invasion and world powers at the United Nations failed to secure plans to deliver critical humanitarian aid.
* Investors await the U.S. GDP numbers for the third quarter later in the day and the PCE price index on Friday ahead of the Federal Reserve's rate decision next week.
* The dollar and benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yields climbed after data indicated that new-home sales surged to a 19-month high in September, affirming market expectations of prolonged high rates heading into 2024.
* Elsewhere, the European Central Bank will keep interest rates unchanged at a record high on Thursday, snapping a 15-month streak of hikes.
* The artificial intelligence boom could support industrial demand for precious metals next year, although high interest rates and economic concerns may be near-term headwinds, Metals Focus said.
* China's gold consumption in the first three quarters of 2023 climbed 7.3% from a year earlier, the China Gold Association said on Wednesday.
* SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings rose 0.2% on Wednesday.
* Sibanye Stillwater on Wednesday said a planned restructuring, which could see it close four loss-making platinum group metal (PGM) shafts in South Africa, could potentially result in the loss of 4,095 jobs.
* Spot silver gained 0.1% to $22.92 an ounce, platinum fell 0.4% to $898.88 and palladium slipped 0.6% to $1,119.14.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT) 1215 EU ECB Refinancing Rate Oct 1215 EU ECB Deposit Rate Oct 1230 US Durable Goods Sept 1230 US GDP Advance Q3 1230 US Initial Jobless Clm Weekly (Reporting by Swati Verma and Sherin Elizabeth Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K)
