May 16 (Reuters) - Gold prices marked time on Thursday as an
uptick in equities offset support from doubts over trade talks
between the United States and China.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= was steady at $1,295.84 per ounce at 0103
GMT.
* U.S. gold futures GCv1 edged 0.1% lower to $1,296.90 an
ounce.
* Asian shares steadied on Thursday on news that U.S.
President Donald Trump is planning to delay tariffs on auto
imports, providing much needed relief to markets hit by a
flare-up in trade tensions and on weak U.S. and Chinese economic
data. MKTS/GLOB
* President Trump is expected to delay a decision on
imposing tariffs on imported cars and parts by up to six months,
three Trump administration officials told Reuters, avoiding
opening yet another front in his global trade battles.
* Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on
Wednesday he will likely travel to Beijing soon to continue
negotiations with Chinese counterparts as the world's two
biggest economies try to salvage talks aimed at ending their
months-long trade war. * However, the Trump administration hit Chinese telecoms
giant Huawei with severe sanctions on Wednesday, adding a new
incendiary element to the U.S.-China trade dispute, casting a
shade over investor optimism on the Sino-U.S. trade front.
* Escalating geopolitical tensions usually boost inflows
into safe-haven gold.
* SPDR Gold Trust GLD , the world's largest gold-backed
exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell 0.44 percent to
733.23 tonnes on Wednesday from 736.46 tonnes on Tuesday.
GOL/ETF
* China Gold International's first quarter gold production
fell 5% to 44,023 ounces from 46,264, the company reported on
Wednesday. * Lonmin Plc LMI.L will delay or reduce the number of jobs
it had planned to cut in South Africa as soaring palladium
prices have boosted revenue, its chief executive said, ahead of
a takeover by Sibanye-Stillwater SGLJ.J . * The world's top platinum miners are bracing for a fresh
round of negotiations with South African workers as a rise in
producer profits is likely to provoke higher wage demands from
labour unions including the militant AMCU. AHEAD (GMT)
* 1230 U.S. Housing Starts number April
* 1230 U.S. Initial Jobless Claims Weekly