PRECIOUS-Gold eases on renewed U.S.-China trade optimism

* Minutes from U.S. Fed's September meeting due at 1800 GMT
* U.S.-China trade talks set for Oct. 10-11 in Washington

(Updates prices, adds comments and details)
By Sumita Layek
Oct 9 (Reuters) - Gold edged lower on Wednesday ahead of
minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's September meeting, with
risk sentiment boosted by a report China was still open to
agreeing a partial trade deal with the United States.
Spot gold XAU= eased 0.2% to $1,501.91 per ounce by 1150
GMT, holding above the key $1,500 level after rising as much as
1% in the previous session. U.S. gold futures GCcv1 were up
0.2% to $1,507.20 per ounce.
A Bloomberg report on Wednesday said China was still open to
agreeing a partial trade deal with the United States, citing an
official with direct knowledge of the talks. European stocks moved sharply higher on the news. .EU
"All of a sudden there is renewed optimism regarding a
partial (trade) agreement because of a report that said China
seems to still be willing despite all these stumbling blocks
laid out by the U.S. this week," Commerzbank analyst Carsten
Fritsch said.
Ahead of high-level trade talks on Thursday, the U.S. on
Tuesday imposed visa restrictions on Chinese officials for the
detention or abuse of Muslim minorities. U.S. President Donald
Trump has said tariffs on Chinese imports will rise on Oct. 15
if no progress is made in the negotiations. Market participants are uncertain if a breakthrough can be
achieved between Washington and Beijing in the long drawn out
trade dispute that has rattled financial markets.
"The initiatives to block U.S. investors from investing into
Chinese companies or limiting Chinese companies in the U.S.
markets, all that is signalling that there is no clear line
whether the U.S. wants a trade agreement with China," said
Quantitative Commodity Research analyst Peter Fertig.
Investors are now waiting for the U.S. Federal Open Market
Committee's minutes from its September meeting at 1800 GMT for
clues on further monetary policy easing.
Also on the radar were developments concerning Britain's
exit from the European Union, with EU officials denying that
Brussels was preparing a major concession to Britain to secure
an Brexit deal. Commerzbank analysts said that investor interest in gold
remained high, as seen from continuous inflows into ETFs.
"Although the $1,500 mark has exerted a considerable pull on
gold in recent weeks, and although gold has found it difficult
to detach itself from this threshold, we believe that the price
is well-supported."
Elsewhere, silver XAG= rose 0.4% to $17.78 an ounce, while
platinum XPT= fell 0.5% to $885.01. Palladium XPD= eased
0.1% to $1,674.80 an ounce.