Gold prices edged up on Tuesday as Washington moved to choke off Iran's oil revenues, prompting safe haven buying, but gains were capped by a strong dollar and Asian shares hovering near a nine-month peak.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold gained 0.1 percent to $1,275.78 per ounce as of 0115 GMT.

* U.S. gold futures were unchanged at $1,277.70 an ounce.

* The dollar index against a basket of six key rivals was a shade higher, edging near a 2019 high of 97.71 struck in early March.

* Asian shares were little changed on Tuesday, hovering not far from Thursday's nine-month peak, as many markets began trading after a long Easter weekend, with concerns over China's policy easing capping gains.

* Stocks on Wall Street hovered near break-even overnight as the benchmark S&P 500 index was about 1 percent away from the record high hit in September, with the S&P energy index leading the gains on higher oil prices.

* The United States on Monday demanded that buyers of Iranian oil stop purchases by May 1 or face sanctions, a move to choke off Tehran's oil revenues which sent crude prices to six-month highs on fears of a potential supply crunch.

* Russia raised its gold holdings by 19.4 tonnes in March, data from the International Monetary Fund showed on Monday.

* U.S. home sales fell more than expected in March as rising demand stoked by declining mortgage rates and slowing house price inflation continued to be frustrated by a lack of properties, especially in the lower-priced segment of the market, data showed on Monday.

* Red 5 Ltd reported gold production from its West Australian gold operations fell to 24,187 ounces in March 2019 quarter from 26,118 ounces in the December quarter.

* Barrick Gold Corp and Newmont Goldcorp Corporation's Nevada joint venture deal clears all regulatory conditions, the companies said on Monday.

DATA AHEAD (GMT)

* 1400 U.S. New Home Sales-Units March

* 1400 EU Consumer Confid. Flash April (Reporting by Arijit Bose in Bengaluru; editing by Richard Pullin)

© Reuters News 2019