Gold held steady early on Thursday after marking a near three-week high in the previous session as the dollar firmed, while palladium remained close to an over 16-year peak touched on Wednesday.

Fundamental

* Spot gold was nearly unchanged at $1,280.81 per ounce at 0101 GMT. On Wednesday, it rose 0.4 percent and touched its highest since Oct. 20 at $1,287.13 an ounce.

* U.S. gold futures for December delivery dipped 0.2 percent to $1,281.40.

* Palladium gained 0.1 percent to $1,014.25 an ounce. It touched its highest since 2001 at $1,019 on Wednesday.

* The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies was up 0.1 pct.

* Asia stocks hovered near a decade high on Thursday following another record-breaking day on Wall Street.

* A Senate tax-cut bill, differing from one in the House of Representatives, was expected to be unveiled on Thursday, complicating a Republican push to overhaul the federal tax code.

* Holdings in SPDR Gold Trust , the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, fell for the fifth straight day on Wednesday by 0.14 percent to 843.09 tonnes.

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