BENGALURU, Sept 27 (Reuters) – Gold prices edged up early on Thursday, supported as investors looked for bargains after the metal fell to a two-week low in the previous session following a U.S. interest rate hike. FUNDAMENTALS: * Spot gold had risen 0.2 percent to $1,196.21 an ounce as of 0057 GMT. On Wednesday, the metal touched its lowest since Sept. 11 at $1,190.13 an ounce. * U.S. gold futures were up 0.1 percent at $1,200.40 an ounce.
* Gold is sensitive to higher interest rates because they tend to boost the dollar, making bullion more expensive for buyers with other currencies.
* The dollar steadied against its peers early on Thursday as the small boost it received from the U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate hike faded, with a decline in U.S. Treasury yields reducing support for the greenback.
* In a statement that marked the end of the era of “accommodative” monetary policy, the Fed raised interest rates on Wednesday and left intact its plans to steadily tighten monetary policy, as it forecast that the U.S. economy would enjoy at least three more years of growth.
* China on Wednesday unveiled plans to cut tariffs for products including machinery, electrical equipment and textile products beginning on Nov. 1, as the country braces for an escalating trade war with the United States.
* U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday accused China of seeking to meddle in the Nov. 6 U.S. congressional elections, saying Beijing did not want his Republican Party to do well because of his pugnacious stance on trade.
* Sales of new U.S. single-family homes rebounded in August after two straight monthly declines, but the underlying trend still pointed to a weakening housing market against the backdrop of rising mortgage rates and higher home prices.
