PRECIOUS-Gold prices edge up on trade fears, rate cut hopes

* SPDR Gold holdings fall 0.3% on Wednesday
* Spot gold might fall to $1,315-$1,321/oz- technicals
* Silver market may be bottoming- HSBC

(Updates prices)
By Brijesh Patel
June 6 (Reuters) - Gold prices edged higher on Thursday,
hovering below the 15-week high hit in the previous session,
supported by trade worries and a possible U.S. rate cut, even as
some investors locked in profits in bullion after a recent
rally.
Spot gold XAU= was up 0.3% to $1,333.58 per ounce as of
0727 GMT, after hitting its highest level since Feb. 20 at
$1,343.86 on Wednesday.
U.S. gold futures GCv1 rose 0.3% to $1,337.20 an ounce.
"In the longer run, gold is going to sustain this bull run.
We are looking at the shift in the Fed policy. The Fed's dovish
signal will obviously boost gold prices and weaken the dollar,"
said Benjamin Lu, an analyst with Singapore-based Phillip
Futures.
Investors booked some profits after gold prices surged
around $70 in the past five sessions, Lu said.
Recent weak economic reports out of the United states
further bolstered bets for an interest rate cut by the U.S.
Federal Reserve.
Data on payrolls showed U.S. private employers hired at the
slowest pace in more than nine years in May, weakness that
analysts blamed on heightening global trade tensions.
Meanwhile on the trade front, Mexican and U.S. officials are
set to resume talks in Washington on Thursday aimed at averting
an imposition of tariffs on Mexican goods.
However, President Donald Trump said "not enough" progress
was made on ways to curb migration when the two sides met on
Wednesday. On the technical side, Spot gold may go back into a range of
$1,315-$1,321 per ounce, according to Reuters technical analyst
Wang Tao.
The fall from the Wednesday high of $1,343.86 could be deep
enough to signal a reversal of the uptrend from the May 30 low
of $1,274.44, Tao said. Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust GLD , the world's largest
gold-backed exchange-traded fund, fell 0.3% to 757.59 tonnes on
Wednesday from Tuesday. GOL/ETF
In other precious metals, silver XAG= gained 0.5% to
$14.88 per ounce after touching a more than one-month high of
$15.04 in the previous session.
"Greater financial market volatility or increase in trade or
geopolitical risks may stoke safe haven demand, especially if
gold is also rallying," HSBC analyst James Steel said in a note.
"We still look for silver to gain and forecast an average
price of $15.27 for 2019 with a range of $13.90-$16.45,
suggesting the market is bottoming."
Palladium XPD= rose 0.8% to $1,339.03 an ounce, while
platinum XPT= climbed 1.1% to $807.40, having hit a near
three-week high at $832.63 on Wednesday.