Gold prices edge higher as dollar sags

(Reuters) - Gold prices inched up on Tuesday as the dollar remained subdued and as investors waited for U.S. consumer price data later in the day to gauge the outlook for inflation and Federal Reserve policy.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold had edged up 0.1 percent to $1,324.08 per ounce at 0057 GMT.

* U.S. gold futures for April delivery climbed 0.3 percent to $1,324.50 per ounce.

* The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies was flat at 89.900 after shedding about 0.2 percent overnight.

* Asian stocks stalled on Tuesday, halting an earlier rally after Wall Street shares lost steam, while the dollar sagged on the back of declining U.S. yields. [MKTS/GLOB]

* The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note yield stood little changed at 2.873 percent. The yield declined by 2.5 basis points overnight.

* U.S. inflation expectations edged higher last month, with one measure hitting its highest level in a year, according to a Federal Reserve Bank of New York survey published Monday that adds to signs of price pressures.

* The U.S. government had a $215 billion budget shortfall in February as revenues into the government's coffers fell and outlays increased, the Treasury Department said on Monday.

* Japanese wholesale prices rose 2.5 percent in the year to February, Bank of Japan data showed on Tuesday.

* Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his close ally, Finance Minister Taro Aso, faced growing pressure on Monday over a suspected cover-up of a cronyism scandal that has dogged the premier for more than a year.

* Central banks should think hard about potential risks and spillovers before issuing their own cryptocurrency, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) said in a report on Monday.

* Turkey raised gold holdings by 8.75 tonnes to 590.997 tonnes in February 2018 -IMF Data

(Reporting by Eileen Soreng in Bengaluru; Editing by Joseph Radford)