PRECIOUS-Gold inches up on U.S.-China trade uncertainty; Fed meet in focus

(Updates prices, adds comment and details)
* U.S. Fed's two-day meeting to begin on Dec. 10
* China's Nov. imports rise, while exports fall
* SPDR Gold holdings fall to lowest since Sept. 19
* GRAPHIC-2019 asset returns: http://tmsnrt.rs/2jvdmXl

By Sumita Layek
Dec 9 (Reuters) - Gold inched up on Monday as investors
awaited cues from the U.S. Federal Reserve on its monetary
policy outlook, while trying to size up the chances of a new
round of U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods.
Spot gold XAU= rose 0.2% to $1,462.10 per ounce by 0740
GMT. U.S. gold futures GCcv1 rose 0.1% to $1,466.50.
The U.S. Fed will meet on Dec.10-12 for an interest rate
decision. Last week's booming jobs report was likely to give the
central bank all it needs to stick to its plan not to cut rates
further in the near future.
Gold has gained about 14% this year after the Fed cut rates
three times this year on the backdrop of a long-drawn trade war
and its impact on economy.
Meanwhile, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow has
said the Dec. 15 deadline is still in place for a new round of
U.S. tariffs on about $156 billion worth of Chinese imports.

"Markets are waiting to size up what happens. They're
waiting both for the Fed meeting and some sort of last minute
(U.S.-China) deal," said Ilya Spivak, a senior currency
strategist at DailyFx.
"We've seen that from this administration in White House,
this kind of brinkmanship where they may decide to cancel
tariffs at the last second by a tweet late night on Dec. 14."
Investors also took stock of data from China that pointed to
a growth in imports, although exports fell. This follows solid
U.S. job growth in November, after which gold recorded its
biggest daily percentage fall in a month. are unable to take a direction due to the upcoming
events," said Hareesh V, head of commodity research at Geojit
Financial Services, adding that a weaker dollar is helping the
metal. USD/
Speculators upped their bullish positions in COMEX gold in
the week to Dec. 3. Holdings of the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded
fund SPDR Gold Trust GLD fell to their lowest since Sept. 19
on Friday. Palladium XPD= rose 0.1% to $1,879.31 per ounce, having
hit a record high at $1,880.65 on Friday.
Silver XAG= rose 0.3% to $16.61, after touching its lowest
since early August in the last session, while platinum XPT=
eased 0.3% to $893.07.