Gold prices inched higher early on Wednesday, as the dollar slipped after a media report suggested that the implementation of a major corporate tax cut under a crucial U.S. tax reform plan could be delayed. Spot gold was up 0.1 percent at $1,276.30 per ounce as of 0103 GMT. The metal fell about 0.5 percent on Tuesday. U.S. gold futures for December delivery gained 0.1 percent to $1,277.30. The dollar fell on Wednesday, after the Washington Post,citing unidentified sources, reported on Tuesday that Senate Republican leaders are considering a one-year delay in the implementation of a corporate tax cut to comply with Senate rules. Asian shares, meanwhile, paused at decade peaks. Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives forged ahead on Tuesday with legislation to reshape the U.S. tax code,while a top credit-ratings agency said the bill would balloon the budget deficit and give only a temporary boost to the economy. U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday warned North Korea he was prepared to use the full range of U.S. military power to stop any attack, but in a more conciliatory appeal than ever before he urged Pyongyang to "make a deal" to end the nuclear standoff. All major Gulf stock markets slid on Tuesday on jitters about Saudi Arabia's sweeping anti-graft purge, a campaign seen by critics as a populist power grab but by ordinary Saudis as an overdue attack on the sleaze of a moneyed ultra-elite. Oil settled lower on Tuesday after rising to the highest since July 2015 the previous day, while tension flared between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and the Saudi crown prince tightened his grip on power. The European Central Bank sought on Tuesday to defuse a conflict with European and Italian authorities over its plans for ridding euro zone banks of bad loans, opening the door to working with other institutions and tailoring its approach to each bank. Holdings in SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, fell 0.14 percent to 844.27 tonnes on Tuesday. Canadian miner Centerra Gold said on Tuesday it would buy smaller rival AuRico Metals in a deal valued at C$310 million ($243 million). Source: Reuters
