Sept 30 (Reuters) - Gold prices inched down in early trade
on Monday as concerns over an escalation in the U.S.-China trade
war eased, boosting the dollar.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= was down 0.2% at $1,494.30 per ounce, as
of 0104 GMT. In the previous session, prices fell to their
lowest since Sept. 18 at $1,486.60.
* U.S. gold futures GCv1 were 0.2% lower at $1,503.3 per
ounce.
* China hopes Beijing and Washington will resolve their
trade dispute "with a calm and rational attitude", Vice Commerce
Minister Wang Shouwen said on Sunday, ahead of talks in two
weeks between the two sides. * President Donald Trump's administration is considering
delisting Chinese companies from U.S. stock exchanges, three
sources briefed on the matter said on Friday, in what would be a
radical escalation of U.S.-China trade tensions. * The United States does not currently plan to stop Chinese
companies from listing on U.S. exchanges, Bloomberg reported on
Saturday, citing a U.S. Treasury official. * U.S. consumer spending barely rose in August and business
investment remained subdued amid lingering trade tensions,
prompting economists to slash their economic growth estimates
for the third quarter.
* Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Patrick Harker
said in New York on Friday he opposed the central bank's
September rate cut and thinks the Fed should "hold firm" on
interest rates. * Boris Johnson said on Sunday he would not quit as
Britain's prime minister even if he fails to secure a deal to
leave the European Union, insisting only his Conservative
government can deliver Brexit on Oct. 31. * Saudi Arabia's crown prince warned in an interview
broadcast on Sunday that oil prices could spike to "unimaginably
high numbers" if the world does not come together to deter Iran,
but said he would prefer a political solution to a military one.
* SPDR Gold Trust GLD , the world's largest gold-backed
exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell 0.22% to 922.88
tonnes on Friday. * Hedge funds and money managers 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. AHEAD
0755 Germany Unemployment Chg, rate SA Sept
0830 UK GDP QQ, YY Q2
0900 EU Unemployment Rate Aug
1200 Germany CPI Prelim YY Sept
1200 Germany HICP Prelim YY Sept