PRECIOUS-Gold steady as weaker dollar offsets effect of rising equities

(Adds analyst comments, updates prices)
* U.S. dollar holds near 5-month low
* Palladium hits record high of $1,979.50/oz
* Platinum eyes best week since end-August
* GRAPHIC-2019 asset returns: http://tmsnrt.rs/2jvdmXl

By K. Sathya Narayanan
Dec 13 (Reuters) - Gold steadied on Friday as a weaker U.S.
dollar helped offset pressure from increased appetite for
riskier assets following reports of a breakthrough in Sino-U.S.
trade negotiations, while palladium scaled a fresh peak.
Spot gold XAU= was steady at $1,469.90 per ounce by 0828
GMT, but was up about 0.7% so far this week. U.S. gold futures
GCcv1 were up 0.1% at $1,474.40.
"The market remains cautious... Until we see a little bit
more data around what has been agreed, investors aren't going to
take any aggressive positioning in the gold market," said ANZ
analyst Daniel Hynes.
Sources said on Thursday U.S. negotiators were offering to
cut existing tariffs on Chinese goods by as much as 50% and
suspend new tariffs scheduled to go into effect on Sunday.
U.S. stocks surged to record highs, while Asian equities
rose to an eight-month peak, making safe-harbour risk-off assets
such as gold less appealing. .N MKTS/GLOB
The dollar .DXY was hovering close to its lowest since
early July, putting a floor under gold prices. USD/
"Until the U.S.-China trade deal gets signed and closed,
uncertainty will persist in the market," said Ajay Kedia,
director at Kedia Advisory in Mumbai, adding North Korea-U.S.
relations should support gold in the coming weeks.
Tensions have been rising in recent weeks as Pyongyang has
conducted a series of weapons tests. Meanwhile, Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson won a
resounding election victory on Friday that will allow him to
take his country out of the European Union by the end of
January. "Gold has been driven by other issues, including central
bank easing and low inflation, and that is helping support
underlying investor appetite despite headwind in the shorter
term," Hynes said.
In the previous session, gold scaled a more than one-month
high after data from the United States showed
higher-than-expected jobless claims, but ended the day lower.
Market participants are now awaiting November U.S. retail
sales data, due later in the day.
Elsewhere, palladium XPD= rose 2% to $1,977.98 an ounce,
having notched an all-time high of $1,979.50.
Plagued by supply deficit, the metal has gained about 5% so
far this week, predominantly supported by mine closures across
major producer South Africa.
Platinum XPT= fell 0.7%, to $936.91 per ounce, but was on
track to post its best week since August-end.
Silver XAG= dipped 0.1% to $16.92, but was set to post its
best weekly gain since the end of October.

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U.S. sets China trade deal terms, sources say, but Beijing mum
envoy to visit Seoul as deadline looms for stalled N.Korea
talks wins "huge" mandate for swift Brexit in UK election
producer prices tepid; jobless claims at more than two-year
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