May 20 (Reuters) - Gold eased on Tuesday after touching a
more than two-week low in the previous session, as a strong
dollar diminished bullion's safe-haven appeal amid heightening
Sino-U.S. trade tensions.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= edged 0.1% lower to $1,276.02 per ounce
at 0106 GMT.
* U.S. gold futures GCv1 also eased 0.1% to $1,276.10 an
ounce.
* The dollar held near a 2-1/2-week high on Tuesday,
supported by higher U.S.-yields and as intensifying trade
frictions between the United States and China boosted appetite
for the safe-haven greenback. FRX/
* Worries that the United States and China were digging in
for a longer, costlier trade war weighed on financial markets on
Monday as Beijing accused Washington of harbouring "extravagant
expectations" for a deal to end their dispute. * Asian shares wobbled near four-month lows on Tuesday on
mounting worries the White House's black-listing of Chinese
telecom giant Huawei could further inflame already tense
relations between the United States and China. MKTS/GLOB
* Since the White House added Huawei Technologies HWT.UL
to a trade blacklist last week, several companies, including
Alphabet Inc's GOOGL.O and mobile phone parts producer
Lumentum Holdings Inc LITE.O , have moved to suspend business
with the Chinese tech giant. * Also aggravating global tensions U.S. President Donald
Trump warned on Monday Iran would be met with "great force" if
it attacked U.S. interests in the Middle East, and government
sources said Washington strongly suspects Shi'ite militias with
ties to Tehran were behind a rocket attack in Baghdad's Green
Zone. * Gold, which is generally considered a safe-haven asset,
has shrugged most news of escalating political tensions, much to
the bulls' dismay.
* Analysts now believe that it has started to lose its
safe-haven appeal while the dollar has started to mimic its
characteristics from last year when it was preferred over gold
by investors looking to hedge against a simmering trade war.
* Elsewhere, Russia raised gold holdings by 15.15 tonnes to
2,183.52 tonnes in April, data from the International Monetary
Fund (IMF) showed on Monday. * Russia's gold reserves stood at 70.2 million troy ounces
as of the start of May, the country's central bank said on
Monday. DATA AHEAD (GMT)
* 1400 U.S. Existing Home Sales April
* 1400 EU Consumer Confid. Flash May