Nov 15 (Reuters) - Gold edged up on Tuesday as bargain-hunters were tempted to buy after the metal hit its lowest in 5-1/2 months the session before.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= was up 0.6 percent at $1,227.16 an ounce at 0033 GMT. It marked its weakest since June 3 at $1,211.08 an ounce in the previous session.
* U.S. gold futures GCcv1 rose 0.44 percent to $1,227.10 per ounce.
* The case for U.S. interest rate increases at the Federal Reserve will grow if the federal government uses tax cuts or increased spending to stimulate the economy, Richmond Federal Reserve President Jeffrey Lacker said on Monday. Markets are betting heavily that the man Americans last week elected as their next president will enact fiscal and other policies that will boost U.S. growth and inflation, but Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan is pushing back. A measure of U.S. inflation expectations held mostly steady at low levels in October, with only some momentum higher, according to a New York Fed survey taken before Americans voted in this month's presidential election. Euro zone industrial production fell by less than expected in September, driven down mostly by a steep drop in the output of durable goods, such as cars or fridges, the European Union statistics office said on Monday. Japan's economic growth handily beat expectations in the July-September period, expanding for a third straight quarter as exports recovered, but weak domestic activity cast doubt on hopes for a sustainable economic recovery. Hedge funds and money managers raised their net long position in COMEX gold for the third straight week in the week to Nov. 8, and increased it slightly in silver, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed on Monday. For the top stories on metals and other news, click TOP/MTL or GOL
DATA AHEAD (GMT)
0700 Germany
GDP flash
Q3
0930 Britain
Consumer prices
Oct
1000 Germany
ZEW economic sentiment
Nov
1000 Euro zone
Eurostat trade
Sep
1000 Euro zone
GDP flash
Q3
1330 U.S.
New York Fed manufacturing Nov
1330 U.S.
Retail sales
Oct
1330 U.S.
Import prices
Oct
1330 U.S.
Export prices
Oct
1500 U.S.
Business inventories
Sep