PRECIOUS-Gold dips as U.S.-China trade woes support dollar, palladium hits record high

* Palladium hits record high at $1,700.71/oz
* Holdings in SPDR Gold Trust fell 0.2% on Friday
* GRAPHIC-2019 asset returns: http://tmsnrt.rs/2jvdmXl

(Updates prices)
By Diptendu Lahiri
Sept 30 (Reuters) - Gold fell on Monday as uncertainties
around the U.S.-China trade war drove some investors to the
safety of the dollar, pressuring assets priced in the U.S.
currency.
Autocatalyst metal palladium however rallied to another
record high, with expectations for a deficit this year helping
it to breach the $1,700 an ounce level for the first time.
Spot gold XAU= fell 0.4% to $1,490 per ounce at 0743 GMT,
after prices hit $1,486.60 in the previous session, their lowest
since Sept. 18. U.S. gold futures GCcv1 dipped 0.6% to
$1,496.60 per ounce.
The dollar index .DXY held near its highest in a week.
"In the short term, investors are sliding towards a
dollar-denominated safe-haven appeal," said AxiTrader market
strategist Stephen Innes.
European and Asian stock markets, including China's, were
little changed on Monday, shrugging off news that the U.S.
administration is considering delisting Chinese companies from
U.S. stock exchanges. MKTS/GLOB
The White House is not contemplating such a move at this
time, Bloomberg quoted Treasury spokeswoman Monica Crowley as
saying on Saturday, after Reuters reported on Friday the U.S.
administration was considering the measure. "Gold remains on the uptrend for the long term but in the
short term, there is some confusion considering the
contradicting headlines we are getting on the trade war," Innes
added.
Ahead of trade talks with the United States, Chinese Vice
Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen said on Sunday the two major
economies would resolve their trade dispute "with a calm and
rational attitude".
Investors were also awaiting clues on U.S. interest rate
policy. Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Patrick
Harker said on Friday he opposed the central bank's September
rate cut and thinks it should "hold firm" on interest rates.
Higher interest rates tend to reduce investor interest in
non-yielding bullion.
"A less dovish than expected Fed means the rally on gold
prices may be capped, but in the near term, the upward momentum
appears intact," said Howie Lee, economist at OCBC Bank.
Holdings of the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded
fund, SPDR Gold Trust GLD , fell 0.22% to 922.88 tonnes on
Friday. Speculators raised their bullish positions in COMEX gold and
reduced bullish bets on silver contracts in the week to Sept.
24, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said on
Friday. Elsewhere, palladium XPD= rose 0.8% to $1,694.85 per
ounce, after hitting a record high at $1,700.71 earlier in the
session.
Silver XAG= dropped over 1% to $17.33 per ounce and
platinum XPT= was down nearly 1% to $929.77 per ounce.

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