Nov 16 (Reuters) - Gold prices inched up on Monday helped by a softer dollar and mounting coronavirus cases in the United States that escalated concerns of the pandemic's impact on the pace of economic recovery.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= was up 0.1% to $1,888.91 per ounce by 0042 GMT.
* U.S. gold futures GCv1 were up 0.1% at $1,888.30.
* The dollar index .DXY was down 0.1%, while Asia's stock markets opened higher on vaccine optimism. USD/ MKTS/GLOB
* U.S. President-elect Joe Biden's top advisers called for urgent action to address the nation's "deeply alarming" COVID-19 crisis on Sunday, while the number of infection cases in the United States crossed the 11-million mark. U.S. consumer sentiment fell unexpectedly in early November as households worried about their finances, the resurgent pandemic and the depleted fiscal stimulus, dimming the economy's outlook. President Donald Trump on Sunday briefly acknowledged losing the U.S. election in a morning Twitter post but then backtracked, saying he concedes "nothing," and vowing to keep up a court fight that election-law experts say is unlikely to succeed. Japan's economy grew an annualised 21.4% in the third quarter, data showed on Monday, rebounding sharply from a record postwar slump. Holdings in SPDR Gold Trust GLD , the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, fell 0.42% to 1,234.32 tonnes on Friday. Consumers flocked to jewellery shops again in India last week to snap up Diwali and Dhanteras festival deals, with a retreat in prices also adding to the sparkle in the world's second biggest bullion consumer. Silver XAG= rose 0.2% to $24.68 per ounce. Platinum XPT= was up 0.3% at $891.46, while palladium XPD= gained 0.4% to $2,333.01.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0200 China Urban Investment (YTD) YY Oct
0200 China Industrial Output YY
Oct
0200 China Retail Sales YY
Oct
1100 EU
Reserve Assets Total
Oct
Key banking/govt official to speak at the 23rd Euro Finance
Week conference in Frankfurt