April 29 (Reuters) - Gold prices rose on Thursday bolstered by the U.S. Federal Reserve's pledge to maintain easy monetary policy to aid economic recovery, while a weaker dollar provided further support.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= was up 0.2% at $1,784.94 per ounce by 0101 GMT, having dipped to $1,762 in the previous session, its lowest since April 16. U.S. gold futures GCv1 rose 0.6% to $1,784.50 per ounce.
* The dollar index .DXY edged 0.1% lower against its rivals, boosting gold's appeal for other currency holders. USD/
* The Federal Reserve held interest rates and its bond-buying program steady on Wednesday after its two-day policy meet despite taking a rosier view of the U.S. economic recovery. Fed Chair Jerome Powell also said the coming price increases would almost surely be of a passing nature, and not present the sort of persistent problem that would force the central bank to begin raising interest rates sooner than expected.
* U.S. President Joe Biden plans to unveil a sweeping $1.8 trillion package for families and education in his first speech to Congress. Gold tends to benefit from widespread stimulus measures from central banks because it is viewed as a hedge against inflation.
* Meanwhile, the U.S. trade deficit in goods jumped to a record high in March, suggesting trade was a drag on economic growth in the first quarter, but that was likely offset by robust domestic demand amid massive government aid. Autocatalyst metal palladium XPD= edged up 0.3% to $2,936.10 per ounce, having scaled an all-time peak of $2,962.50 on Tuesday.
* Silver XAG= gained 0.6% to $26.34 per ounce. Platinum XPT= was up 0.3% at $1,222.93.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT) 0755 Germany Unemployment Chg, Rate Sa April 0900 EU
Consumer Confid. Final
April 1200 Germany CPI, HICP Prelim YY
April 1230 US
GDP Advance
Q1 1230 US
Initial Jobless Clm
Weekly