Sept 10 (Reuters) - Gold prices dropped to a four-week low
on Tuesday, as investor appetite for riskier assets found
support on hopes of global stimulus amid expectations of a
breakthrough in the Sino-U.S. trade dispute.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= was down 0.5% at $1,490.68 per ounce, as
of 0152 GMT. Earlier in the session, prices hit $1,486, their
lowest since Aug. 13.
* U.S. gold futures GCv1 were down 0.9% at $1,497.4 an
ounce.
* U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Monday said he
did not see the threat of a recession as the Trump
administration seeks to revive trade negotiations with China,
adding that he expected a positive year ahead for the U.S.
economy. * U.S. Treasury yields rose to three-week highs on Monday,
in line with gains in the European bond market. US/
* U.S. consumers' inflation expectations slid in August and
workers grew more pessimistic about their job situation, data
from the New York Federal Reserve showed on Monday, supporting
the case for further interest rate cuts from the Fed.
* Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday he would not
request an extension to Brexit, hours after a law came into
force demanding that he delay Britain's departure from the
European Union until 2020 unless he can strike a divorce deal.
* Britain's economy picked up more than expected in July,
data showed on Monday, dampening fears that it will succumb to
its first recession since the financial crisis as the Brexit
crisis escalates. * German exports unexpectedly rose in July, data showed on
Monday, but business groups said tariff disputes and Brexit
uncertainty still posed risks to Europe's largest economy as it
teeters on the brink of recession. * Germany is considering setting up independent public
agencies that could take on new debt to invest in the country's
flagging economy, without falling foul of strict national
spending rules, three people familiar with talks about the plan
told Reuters. * SPDR Gold Trust GLD , the world's largest gold-backed
exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell 0.82 percent to
882.42 tonnes on Monday from 889.75 tonnes on Friday.