PRECIOUS-Gold falls on China tariff move, but set for a weekly gain

(Adds detail, quotes, updates prices)
* China to waive tariffs for some U.S. soybeans, pork
* Palladium holds near last session's record peak
* Markets await U.S. non-farm payrolls report later in the
day
* GRAPHIC-2019 asset returns: http://tmsnrt.rs/2jvdmXl

By Asha Sistla
Dec 6 (Reuters) - Gold prices slipped on Friday after
China's announcement to waive import tariffs on some American
goods, but bullion was still poised for a weekly gain ahead of a
U.S. jobs report that could offer further insight on the state
of the economy.
Spot gold XAU= was down 0.2% at $1,473.16 an ounce at 0802
GMT. U.S. gold futures GCcv1 fell 0.3% to $1,478.00.
Despite some losses, bullion is still headed for a second
straight weekly gain, up about 0.7% for the week so far. The
metal hit a one-month high of $1,484 an ounce on Wednesday.
"This week gold continued to march on the higher side and
today we can see some profit booking," said Ajay Kedia, director
at Kedia Advisory in Mumbai, adding that China's move on Friday
was pressuring prices further.
China's finance ministry said that import tariffs for some
pork and soybeans from the United States will be waived,
indicating a positive move to de-escalate the trade war ahead of
U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods effective from Dec. 15.
U.S. President Donald Trump also said on Thursday that the
trade talks were "moving right along" but some in the market
remained cautious. "We have seen U.S. and China taking one step at a time and
then we see that the deal is not going on - every time there is
a new twist in the deal. So, unless this deal doesn't close,
uncertainty will prevail in the market," Kedia added.
The positive comments supported Asian stocks, weighing on
bullion, which is favoured in times of political and financial
uncertainty. MKTS/GLOB
"If the trade talks break down, then the price could spike
up. Otherwise, we (expect gold to continue consolidating towards
the year-end," said Margaret Yang Yan, a market analyst at CMC
Markets.
"It's completely different from earlier in the year when
gold was absolutely the star."
Bullion has gained 15% so far this year, which could be its
biggest annual rise since 2010, mainly due to the trade war.
Traders are now bracing for the U.S. non-farm payrolls
report due later on Friday to determine how well the U.S.
economy is holding up, after a series of weak U.S. economic data
reports. In other precious metals, palladium XP= was unchanged at
$1,871.34, having notched a record high of $1,876.54 an ounce on
Thursday on supply concerns for the auto catalyst metal.
Platinum XPT= was flat at $896.63, while silver XAG=
fell 0.3% to $16.89. Both were headed for their first weekly
decline in four.