PRECIOUS-Gold edges up ahead of Sino-U.S. trade talks

* U.S.-China trade talks to happen in Washington on Oct.
10-11
* China foreign reserves dip in Sept

(Adds technicals, details; updates prices)
By Karthika Suresh Namboothiri
Oct 7 (Reuters) - Gold prices ticked up on Monday as
investors were cautious ahead of this week's Sino-U.S. trade
talks following a report that Beijing would likely disagree to a
broad trade deal with the United States.
Spot gold XAU= inched 0.1% higher to $1,505.38 per ounce,
as of 0612 GMT. Prices had firmed 0.5% last week on fears of
cooling global growth.
U.S. gold futures GCcv1 slipped 0.1% to $1,511.00 per
ounce.
The next round of U.S-China trade talks are set to be held
in Washington on Oct. 10-11, although hopes of progress
diminished after a report that Chinese officials wanted the
scope of this week's negotiations to be narrow. There is uncertainty regarding the trade negotiations. China
seems to be very reluctant to agree, said Margaret Yang Yan, a
market analyst at CMC Markets. "There is demand for safe haven
assets, which reflects a very cautious mood towards the trade
deal."
The long-drawn trade tussle between the world's two largest
economies has toppled markets globally and triggered fears of a
possible recession.
"Gold has been in a range of less than $100. It will take a
strong catalyst to bring gold out of this channel," Yan said,
adding that quantitative easing by the U.S. Fed, European
Central Bank and Bank of Japan could be a major factor.
Jobs growth in the United States slowed in September and
wage growth stalled, even as unemployment dropped to a 50-year
low, a report on Friday showed. But that did little to change market expectations that the
U.S. Federal Reserve will likely cut interest rates at its next
policy review on Oct. 29-30 to support the economy.
Meanwhile, China's foreign exchange reserves fell more than
expected in September amid a cooling domestic economy and the
rising trade tensions. Spot gold may test a support at $1,488 per ounce, a break
below which could cause a fall towards the range of
$1,446-$1,462, said Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao.
Among other metals, platinum XPT= rose 0.3% to $878.87,
silver XAG= dipped 0.1% to $17.54 and palladium XPD= was
little changed at $1,665.67.