Sept 5 (Reuters) - Gold prices fell on early Thursday, with
an uptick in equities propped up by positive developments around
Brexit deadlock and Hong Kong protests, but prices hovered near
over six-year high hit in the last session on persistent
concerns about slowing global growth.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= was 0.5% lower at $1,544.66 per ounce at
0133 GMT. It had touched $1,557 on Wednesday, a fresh peak since
April 2013.
* U.S. gold futures GCv1 were down 0.2% at $1,557.8 an
ounce.
* The dollar index .DXY , which measures the greenback
against a basket of currencies, dipped to a one-week low, while
Asian stocks perked up on progress in the political crises in
Britain and Hong Kong. USD/ MKTS/GLOB
* Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam, in a pre-recorded televised
message, on Wednesday formally withdrew the bill, acceding to
one of the five demands by pro-democracy protesters, although
many demonstrators and lawmakers said the move was too little,
too late. * The British parliament voted on Wednesday to prevent Prime
Minister Boris Johnson taking Britain out of the European Union
without a deal on Oct. 31, but rejected his first bid to call a
snap election two weeks before the scheduled exit. * The U.S. economy grew at a modest pace in recent weeks,
with manufacturing buffeted by a global slowdown while consumer
purchases gave mixed signals on the strength of household
spending, the Federal Reserve reported on Wednesday.
[ * Christine Lagarde took a major step towards becoming the
European Central Bank's next president on Wednesday, securing
the backing of a European Parliament committee after pledging to
keep policy loose while undertaking a broader strategy review.
* The London Metal Exchange's gold and silver futures are
being thrown into doubt, with the imminent resignation of
Societe Generale SOGN.PA as a market maker threatening to
deepen a decline in trading activity, three sources said.
* Holdings in SPDR Gold Trust GLD , the world's largest
gold-backed exchange-traded fund, rose 0.66% to 895.90 tonnes on
Wednesday. * India's gold imports plunged 73% in August from a year ago
to the lowest level in three years as a rally in local prices to
a record high and a hike in import duty discouraged retail
buying, a government source said on Wednesday. AHEAD
0600 Germany Industrial Orders MM July
1230 U.S. Initial Jobless Claims Weekly
1345 U.S. Markit Comp, Svcs Final PMIs Aug
1400 U.S. Factory Orders MM July
1400 U.S. ISM N-Mfg PMI Aug