(Corrects date in third bullet to say Washington passed defence
bill on Dec. 17, not Dec. 9)
Dec 23 (Reuters) - Gold prices held steady on Monday in thin
trading, as investors refrained from making big bets ahead of
the Christmas and New Year holidays while waiting for fresh
developments on the Sino-U.S. trade front.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= was up 0.1% at $1,479.05 per ounce by
0106 GMT. U.S. gold futures GCv1 rose 0.1% to $1,482.90 per
ounce.
* U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday said the United
States and China would "very shortly" sign their so-called Phase
One trade pact, but the markets still craved for further details
of the agreement. * China's top lawmaking body on Saturday criticised the
defence bill that Washington passed on Dec. 17 as
"interference", state news agency Xinhua reported. * U.S. economic growth nudged up in the third quarter, while
consumer spending increased solidly in November, pointing to
moderate economic growth that could support the Federal
Reserve's desire to keep interest rates unchanged indefinitely,
data on Friday showed. * China, the world's top bullion producer and consumer,
launched its first gold options contract on the Shanghai Futures
Exchange on Friday. * Iran, Malaysia, Turkey and Qatar are considering trading
among themselves in gold and through a barter system as a hedge
against any future economic sanctions on them, Malaysian Prime
Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Saturday. * Holdings of the world's largest gold-backed
exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust GLD , rose 0.3% to 885.93
tonnes on Friday. GOL/ETF
* Speculators increased their bullish positions in COMEX
gold and silver contracts in the week to Dec. 17. CFTC/
* Gold demand was subdued in major Asian hubs last week,
with India in the midst of protests against a new citizenship
law that disrupted some retail buying and traders elsewhere
banking on the Chinese New Year for an uptick in sales. GOL/AS
* AngloGold Ashanti said it expected its Obuasi gold mine in
Ghana to produce about 350,000 ounces to 400,000 ounces per year
for the first 10 years. * Elsewhere, palladium XPD= fell 0.5% to $1,846.83 per
ounce, after declining as much as 5% in the previous session.
* Silver XAG= was flat at $17.19 per ounce, while platinum
XPT= gained 0.9% to $916.70.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0200* China Final Trade Data Nov
1230 U.S. Durable Goods Nov
1230 U.S. Durables ex-Transport Nov
1330 Canada GDP MM Oct
1500 U.S. New Homes Sales Units Nov
2350 Japan Bank of Japan releases minutes of monetary policy
meeting held on Oct. 30 and 31.
*no precise release time