Gold inches lower on dollar rebound as North Korea concerns ease

BENGALURU (Reuters) - Gold prices edged lower early on Wednesday after hitting a more than nine-month peak in the previous session, as the dollar recovered from multi-year lows on easing tensions surrounding North Korea.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold inched down 0.1 percent to $1,308.11 per ounce as of 0020 GMT. In the previous session, it hit the highest since Nov. 9 at 1,325.94.

* U.S. gold futures for December delivery fell 0.4 percent to $1,313.70 per ounce.

* The dollar rebounded from a 2-1/2-year low on Wednesday as concerns about North Korea's firing of a missile over Japan ebbed, but Asian stocks were muted despite Wall Street's higher close. [MKTS/GLOB] [USD/]

* North Korea said on Wednesday it had conducted a test of an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) to counter U.S. and South Korean military drills and as a first step in military action in the Pacific to "contain" the U.S. territory of Guam.

* The United States will not allow North Korea's lawlessness to continue and it is time for Pyongyang to recognise the "danger they are putting themselves in" as the world is united against them, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said on Tuesday.

* Flooding from Tropical Storm Harvey has shut nearly a fifth of U.S. oil-refining capacity, triggering worries about a gasoline supply crunch as the slow-moving tempest lumbers through the heart of America's petrochemicals industry [O/R]

* U.S consumer confidence surged to a five-month high in August as households grew increasingly upbeat about the labour market while house prices rose further in June, suggesting a recent acceleration in consumer spending was likely to be sustained.

* The data on Tuesday also supported views that economic growth would accelerate in the second half of the year after a sluggish performance earlier.

* Holdings of the SPDR Gold Trust , the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, rose 0.3 percent to 816.43 tonnes on Tuesday. [GOL/ETF]

(Reporting by Arpan Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Richard Pullin)