May 15 (Reuters) - Gold rose on Friday to hover below a
three-week high hit in the previous session, underpinned by
talks of further U.S. stimulus and worsening U.S.-China
relations.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= gained 0.1% to $1,730.56 per ounce by
0142 GMT, having touched a three-week high of $1,735.96 on
Thursday. U.S. gold futures GCv1 climbed 0.1% to $1,742.30.
* The metal has gained about 1.8% so far this week.
* Asian stocks were set to rise amid optimism about the
re-opening of the U.S. economy from coronavirus lockdowns and
possibly more stimulus that could fuel a recovery. MKTS/GLOB
* U.S. President Donald Trump is open to negotiations on
another possible stimulus bill amid the pandemic, but not the
one put forward by House of Representatives Democrats, a White
House spokeswoman said. * Gold tends to benefit from widespread stimulus measures as
it is often seen as a hedge against inflation and currency
debasement.
* Trump also signalled a further deterioration of his
relationship with China over the virus, saying he has no
interest in speaking to President Xi Jinping right now and going
so far as to suggest he could even cut ties with Beijing.
* Underscoring the economic impact of the epidemic, initial
claims for state unemployment benefits in the United States
totalled a seasonally adjusted 2.981 million for the week ended
May 9, but have been gradually decreasing since hitting a record
6.867 million in the week ended March 28. * British manufacturers think it will take longer to recover
from the economic impact of COVID-19 than just a couple of weeks
ago, according to an industry survey. * The Bank of England is not considering taking "the very
big step" of pushing interest rates below zero, Governor Andrew
Bailey said. * SPDR Gold Trust GLD holdings, the world's largest
gold-backed exchange-traded fund, rose 1.15% to 1,104.72 tonnes
on Thursday. GOL/ETF
* Palladium XPD= gained 0.3% to $1,840.42 an ounce, but
was on track to post its seventh straight weekly loss. Platinum
XPT= eased 0.1% to $767.29, while silver XAG= rose 0.7% to
$15.97.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0200 China Urban Investment April
0200 China Industrial Output, Retail Sales April
0600 Germany GDP Flash QQ SA, YY NSA Q1
0900 EU GDP Flash Estimate QQ, YY Q1
1000 EU Reserve Assets Total April
1230 U.S. Retail Sales MM April
1315 U.S. Industrial Production MM April
1400 U.S. U Mich Sentiment Prelim May