Sept 6 (Reuters) - Gold prices inched lower on Friday, after
dropping more than 2% in the previous session, as investors were
driven to riskier assets encouraged by stronger U.S. economic
data and hopes of a thaw in the U.S.-China trade tensions.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= was down 0.1% at $1,516.90 per ounce, as
of 0104 GMT. In the previous session, the bullion dropped to
$1,509.03, its lowest level since Aug. 23.
* Prices also registered their biggest one-day percentage
decline in nearly three years on Thursday.
* U.S. gold futures GCv1 were little changed at $1,526 an
ounce.
* The dollar was supported on Friday, while Asian stocks
tracked global peers and rose on bolstered risk appetite. USD/
MKTS/GLOB
* U.S. services sector activity accelerated in August and
private employers boosted hiring, suggesting the economy
continued to grow at a moderate pace despite trade tensions,
which have stoked financial market fears of a recession.
* China and the United States on Thursday agreed to hold
high-level talks in early October in Washington, cheering
investors hoping for a trade war thaw as new U.S. tariffs on
Chinese consumer goods chip away at global growth. * Trade tensions between the United States and China are set
to knock half a percentage point off of global growth by next
year, France's finance minister said in an interview published
on Thursday. * British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's plan to kick off
what is in effect an election campaign casting parliament as the
enemy of Brexit was overshadowed on Thursday when his younger
brother quit the government, citing the national interest.
* Holdings at SPDR Gold Trust (P:GLD) GLD , the world's largest
gold-backed exchange-traded fund, fell 0.69% to 889.75 tonnes on
Thursday from 895.90 tonnes on Wednesday. * The retail price of physical gold in Japan climbed to its
highest in nearly 40 years on Thursday, a surge accentuated by
fluctuations in the value of the yen but mirroring a global hunt
for the safe-haven precious metal amid worries that the
U.S.-China trade row could further depress the global economy.
AHEAD
0600 Germany Industrial Output MM July
0645 France Reserve Assents Total Aug
0730 UK Halifax House Prices MM Aug
0900 EU GDP Revised QQ, YY Q2
1230 U.S. Non-Farm Payrolls Aug
1230 U.S. Unemployment Rate Aug
1230 U.S. Average Earnings YY Aug