Nov 9 (Reuters) - Gold prices edged higher in early Asian trade on Monday, propped up by a weaker dollar and hopes of more stimulus measures under U.S. President-elect Joe Biden.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= rose 0.1% to $1,953.45 per ounce by 0049 GMT. On Friday it hit $1,960.13, the highest since Sept. 18.
* U.S. gold futures GCv1 rose 0.2% to $1,955.60 per ounce.
* The dollar index .DXY was hovering near a more than two-month low. USD/
* Biden and his advisers are working on plans to tackle the crises facing a divided America, first and foremost the raging pandemic, a day after the Democrat won enough states to clinch the U.S. presidency. A potentially divided U.S. government with Republicans in control of the Senate may mean a smaller fiscal stimulus package, but that could put the spotlight on the Federal Reserve to do more to revive the economy. Gold tends to benefit from widespread stimulus as it is considered a hedge against inflation.
* Labour Department's employment report on Friday showed the U.S. economy created the fewest jobs in five months in October and more Americans are working part time. Global COVID-19 infections exceeded 50 million on Sunday, according to a Reuters tally. Significant differences remain in talks over a trade deal between Britain and the European Union, both sides said, as they promised to step up efforts to find an agreement. Holdings in SPDR Gold Trust GLD , the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, rose 0.63% to 1,260.30 tonnes on Friday. Speculators cut their net long position in COMEX gold by 9,657 contracts to 121,951 in week to Nov. 3, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said on Friday. Silver XAG= rose 0.5% to $25.72 per ounce. Platinum XPT= gained 0.8% to $896.04, while palladium XPD= fell 0.4% to $2,480.76.