BENGALURU, July 27 (Reuters) - Gold edged lower on Wednesday as the dollar and equities firmed ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy decision due later in the day.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= dipped 0.2 percent to $1,317.26 an ounce at 0051 GMT. Bullion rose 0.4 percent on Tuesday.
* U.S. gold GCcv1 fell 0.3 percent to $1,317.50 an ounce.
* The U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to keep interest rates unchanged this week, deferring any possible increase until September or December, as policymakers hold out for more evidence of a pickup in inflation. U.S. consumer confidence held steady in July and new single-family home sales hit the highest in nearly 8-1/2 years in June, suggesting sustained momentum in the economy that could allow the Federal Reserve to raise rates this year. Yen moves and political considerations could be decisive factors for Bank of Japan policymakers agonizing over whether to expand stimulus yet again on Friday or to save their dwindling policy resources in case the economy takes a turn for the worse. The Bank of England is almost certain to cut benchmark borrowing costs when it sets policy on Aug. 4, but a slim majority of economists in a Reuters poll said it would hold off for now on restarting its asset purchase programme. A surge in Western gold investment helped offset sliding Asian demand in the second quarter, GFMS analysts at Thomson Reuters said on Tuesday, as they hiked their gold price forecast for the year in response to jitters over the economic outlook. Barrick Gold Corp ABX.TO , the world's largest gold producer, is weighing a sale of its majority stake in African unit Acacia Mining Plc ACAA.L and has approached several South African miners, according to sources familiar with the situation. For the top stories on metals and other news, click TOP/MTL or GOL
MARKET REPORT
* U.S. crude prices fell on Tuesday, hitting three-month lows, on renewed worries of a glut while Brent settled higher due to its better fundamentals versus U.S. crude. O/R
DATA AHEAD (GMT)
0600 Germany Import prices June
0645 France Consumer confidence July
0645 France Producer prices June
0830 Britain Preliminary GDP Q2
1230 U.S. Durable goods June
1400 U.S. Pending homes sales June
1800 Federal Open Market Committee releases policy statement