Gold eases as drop in virus cases lifts risk appetite

* New coronavirus cases in the Chinese province at the epicentre of the outbreak fell for a second straight day to 1,693, but deaths rose after the World Health Organization had cautioned there was not yet enough data to know if the epidemic had slowed.

* Asian shares and U.S. stock futures edged cautiously higher on Wednesday as investors tried to shake off worries about the epidemic.

* Providing a fillip to investor confidence was China's decision to grant exemptions on retaliatory duties imposed against 696 U.S. goods, the most substantial tariff relief to be offered so far, as Beijing seeks to fulfill commitments made in its interim trade deal with the United States.

* On Feb. 17, Chinese policymakers had also implemented a raft of measures to support an economy jolted by a coronavirus outbreak that is expected to have a devastating impact on first-quarter growth.

* A federal judge in Texas rejected Chinese telecommunications equipment maker Huawei Technologies Co Ltd's constitutional challenge to a U.S. law that restricted its ability to do business with federal agencies and their contractors.

* The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust holdings rose 0.63% to 929.84 tonnes on Tuesday.

* Palladium inched up 0.2% to $2,641.02 an ounce. Earlier in the session, the auto-catalyst metal touched a record high of $2,669.00.

* Silver was trading flat at $18.17, while platinum rose 0.5% to $996.20.