PRECIOUS-Gold eases, but still heading for fourth monthly gain

* Silver on track for best month since June 2016
* Platinum set to post biggest monthly gain since Jan 2018
* Gold up nearly 8% so far this month

(Updates prices)
By Brijesh Patel
Aug 30 (Reuters) - Gold eased on Friday as equity markets
and the dollar firmed, but fears of a global economic slowdown
and uncertainty about the U.S.-China trade war kept the
safe-haven metal on track for its fourth straight monthly rise.
Spot gold XAU= was down 0.1% at $1,526 per ounce by 1342
GMT. However, the metal has gained nearly 8% so far this month.
U.S. gold futures GCv1 were steady at $1,536.80 an ounce.
"The trade war rhetoric has been toned down somewhat, which
has lifted stocks and bond yields, and attracted some profit
taking in gold," Saxo Bank commodity strategist Ole Hansen said,
adding a stronger dollar was also pressuring gold.
"However, even though we may see an improvement on the trade
front, which is doubtful, economic activity is still slowing
down; that cannot turn around overnight. So, the underlying
support from lower bond yields is still there."
Weighing on gold's appeal, the dollar index .DXY hit a
one-month high en route to its best week in two months. USD/
Global stock markets rose after the United States and China
showed a willingness to resolve their trade dispute by returning
to the negotiating table. MKTS/GLOB
China's commerce ministry also said a September round of
meetings was being discussed by the two sides, but added it was
important for Washington to cancel a tariff increase.
"Gold will have a very high beta to any reduction in trade
tensions given that they have driven so much of its rally,"
OANDA analyst Jeffrey Halley wrote in a note.
Gold prices have risen more than $100 so far this month,
mainly driven by the trade war between the world's biggest
economics and heightened fears over a global downturn.
The inversion of the U.S. yield curve, where short-dated
yields are running above long-dated ones, has also unsettled
investors as it often precedes a recession. US/
Meanwhile, the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central
bank are widely expected to cut rates next month to stimulate
the economy.
Federal funds futures FEDWATCH implied traders saw a 96%
chance of a 25 basis-point rate cut by the U.S. central bank
next month.
Lower interest rates decrease the opportunity cost of
holding non-yielding bullion.
Elsewhere, silver XAG= rose 0.4% to $18.31 per ounce and
eyed its biggest monthly percentage rise since June 2016,
gaining 13% so far in August.
Platinum XPT= gained 1.4% to $928.75 an ounce, holding
near a more than one-year high and heading for its best month
since January 2018.
Palladium XPD= jumped 4.1% to $1,535.50 per ounce, its
highest in a month.