Gold prices ticked up in early Asian trade on Thursday, helped by a softer dollar, but were stuck in a tight range as traders focused on the U.S. debt ceiling vote.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold edged up 0.2% to $1,965.61 per ounce by 0008 GMT. U.S. gold futures rose 0.2% to $1,965.20.

* The dollar index eased from a more than two-month high, making bullion less expensive for overseas buyers.

* A bill to suspend the U.S. government’s $31.4 trillion debt ceiling and avert a disastrous default cleared a key procedural hurdle in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, setting the stage for a vote on the bipartisan debt deal itself.

* Investors have viewed the possibility of a U.S. default as an unlikely but potentially catastrophic event for global markets. House passage would send the bill to the Senate, where debate could stretch to the weekend, just before the June 5 date when the government could start to run out of money.
* U.S. job openings unexpectedly rose in April and data for the prior month was revised higher, pointing to persistent strength in the labour market that could compel the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates again in June. * Higher interest rates dull the appeal for zero-yield bullion.

* In the physical market, India slashed the base import prices of gold and silver as prices on the world market corrected.

* Spot silver ticked 0.1% higher to $23.5052 per ounce, platinum climbed 0.3% to $996.62, and palladium rose 0.8% to $1,372.70.

* Russia’s Nornickel expects the global palladium market to swing to a surplus of 300,000 troy ounces in 2024 from a deficit of 200,000 ounces in 2023 due to recycling outpacing demand recovery, the miner said on Wednesday. DATA/EVENTS (GMT) 1230 US Initial Jobless Clm Weekly 1345 US S&P Global Mfg PMI Final May 1400 US ISM Manufacturing PMI May.