FUNDAMENTALS Spot gold edged up 0.3 percent to $1,712.09 an ounce by 0021 GMT, on course for a fall of nearly 2 percent on the week, its third week of losses in the past four. US gold inched up 0.2 percent to $1,716.50. The European Central Bank cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points as expected, but dampened hopes for further bond-buying, unnerving markets just before a crucial European Union summit. European leaders agreed on new fiscal rules enshrining tougher budget discipline on Thursday, an EU official said. Besides the EU summit, investors will watch a spate of data out of China, including inflation, industrial output and retail sales later in the day, besides preliminary trade figures on Saturday. Commodity exchange traded products (ETPs) gathered the most assets globally of any sector in November as investors continued to shovel money into gold due to an intensification of the eurozone debt crisis. The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits dropped to a nine-month low last week, suggesting the labor market's recovery was gaining momentum.