PRECIOUS-Gold prices ease as dollar firms; Fed meeting in focus

* SPDR Gold holdings rise 0.6% on Friday
* Money managers raise net longs in gold in week to June 11
- CFTC
* Investors await Fed's June 18-19 meeting

(Updates prices, adds comment)
By Brijesh Patel
June 17 (Reuters) - Gold prices eased on Monday, after
retreating from a 14-month peak hit in the previous session, as
the dollar held near multi-week highs on strong U.S. retail
sales data, ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve meeting this week.
Spot gold XAU= was down 0.3% at $1,337.31 per ounce as of
0713 GMT. Gold hit $1,358.04, its highest since April 11, 2018,
on Friday.
U.S. gold futures GCv1 were down 0.2% at $1,341.70 an
ounce.
"For now, gold prices are holding tight. The markets have
aggressively priced in rate-cut expectations and trade
uncertainties have boosted safe-haven assets," said Benjamin Lu,
an analyst with Singapore-based Phillip Futures.
However, "if Fed did cut rates, then bond prices might come
down and yields might go up, which is not so good for gold.
Also, rate cut may boost risk appetite and can limit gold's
gains," Lu added.
Expectations of an interest rate cut at the Fed's June 18-19
meeting fell to 21.7% from 28.3% on Thursday, in the wake of the
strong retail data, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool.
However, bets for monetary easing at the July meeting remain
high at 85%. Weighing on bullion's appeal was the stronger dollar .DXY ,
which is holding near a two-week high on Monday, supported by
strong U.S. retail sales data, analysts said.
U.S. retail sales increased in May and sales for the prior
month were revised higher, suggesting a pick-up in consumer
spending that could ease fears the economy was slowing down
sharply in the second quarter. Meanwhile, U.S. Trade Representative's Office on Monday will
kick off seven days of testimony from U.S. retailers,
manufacturers and other businesses about President Donald
Trump's plan to hit another $300 billion worth of Chinese goods
with tariffs. "U.S.-China trade tension is supportive factor for the gold
market, the unresolved trade dispute and any escalation is
likely to increase demand for gold," said Michael McCarthy,
chief market strategist, CMC Markets.
Indicative of the sentiment, holdings of SPDR Gold Trust
GLD , the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund,
rose 0.6% to 764.10 tonnes on Friday from 759.70 tonnes on
Thursday. GOL/ETF
Hedge funds and money managers raised their net long
positions in COMEX gold in the week to June 11, the U.S.
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said on Friday.
Physical gold discounts in India widened to their biggest in
five months last week as an upsurge in local prices dampened
purchases, while China and Singapore saw demand rising from
investors looking to hedge against a global slowdown. GOL/AS
Among other metals, silver XAG= eased 0.2% to $14.84 per
ounce, while platinum XPT= rose 0.3% at $800.83.
Palladium XPD= edged 0.1% lower to $1,463.15 per ounce.