Jan 16 (Reuters) - Gold prices held steady on Thursday as
investors remained concerned about existing tariffs and
unresolved issues after Washington and Beijing signed a partial
trade deal.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= edged 0.1% higher to $1,556.69 per ounce
by 0140 GMT. U.S. gold futures GCv1 rose 0.2% to $1,556.40.
* In other precious metals, palladium XPD= rose 0.1% to
$2,264.65 an ounce after hitting a record peak of $2,284.00
earlier in the session, while platinum XPT= fell 0.2% to
$1,018.43, after hitting a near two year peak at $1,027.44
earlier.
* U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese Vice Premier Liu
He signed a deal on Wednesday, defusing an 18-month row between
the world's two largest economies. * However, the interim deal fails to address structural
economic issues that led to the trade conflict, does not fully
eliminate the tariffs that have slowed the global economy, and
sets hard-to-achieve purchase targets, analysts said.
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* Gold prices had gained 18% last year on the back of the
trade war and its impact on global economy.
* Adding to concerns, China's pledge to buy U.S. farm goods
based on "market conditions" during the deal signing ceremony
spurred doubts among farmers and commodity traders over
Beijing's lingering tariffs on U.S. exports. * World stocks inched to a record high as the Phase 1 deal
reduced uncertainties that beset financial markets. MKTS/GLOB
* The Democratic-led House of Representatives voted on
Wednesday to send two formal charges against Trump to the
Senate. * U.S. Federal Reserve expressed confidence that borrowing
costs are at the right level to sustain growth and lift
inflation to healthier levels, despite what businesses say is a
lingering drag from uncertainty over U.S. trade policy.
* Mali's industrial gold production rose 7% in 2019 to a
record 65.1 tonnes, mines ministry statistics showed on
Wednesday. * Holdings of the world's largest gold-backed
exchange-traded fund SPDR Gold Trust GLD rose 0.43% to 878.32
tonnes on Wednesday. GOL/ETF
* Silver XAG= was flat at $17.99 per ounce.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0700 Germany HICP Final YY Dec
1330 US Initial Jobless Claims Weekly
1330 US Philly Fed Business Indx Jan
1330 US Retail Sales MM Dec
n/a China Total Social Financing Dec
n/a China M2 Money Supply YY Dec
n/a China New Yuan Loans Dec