BENGALURU, July 14 (Reuters) - Gold held steady early Thursday, after rising as much as 1 percent in the previous session, buoyed by expectations that central banks could cut interest rates.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= had inched up 0.2 percent at $1,345.46 per ounce by 0109 GMT. It rose about 0.9 percent on Tuesday, closing at $1,342.45, after touching a session-high of $1,345.20.
* U.S. gold GCcv1 climbed 0.3 percent at $1,347 an ounce.
* Asian shares held near eight-month high on Thursday as investors bet the Bank of England would cut rates in a pre-emptive strike to ward off a recession following the country's decision to leave the European Union. MKTS/GLOB Low interest rates boost the appeal of non-interest bearing assets such as bullion.
* Theresa May became Britain's prime minister on Wednesday with the task of leading it out of the EU, and quickly named leading 'Brexit' supporters to key positions in her new government. Global headwinds are undercutting the Federal Reserve's efforts to boost the U.S. economy, making low interest rates not nearly as stimulative as they were when the rest of the world economy was growing faster, Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan said on Wednesday.
* The U.S. central bank will likely opt for a "fairly shallow" series of U.S. interest rate hikes, Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker said, adding he wants to "let it play out a bit" before backing a policy tightening.
* Silver prices have leapt nearly 50 percent so far this year, reversing three years of losses, but history shows investors hoping to hop aboard the bandwagon should be wary. India on Wednesday relaxed the rules for its tax on gold jewellery sales that was introduced earlier this year in an attempt to address concerns raised by the industry, the government said in a statement. The London Bullion Market Association has appointed Bank of England executive Paul Fisher as its first non-executive chairman, effective from Sept. 5. For the top stories on metals and other news, click TOP/MTL or GOL
DATA AHEAD (GMT)
1230 U.S. Weekly jobless claims
1230 U.S. Whole producer prices
June
1100 The Bank of England announces its policy decision