Oct 15 (Reuters) - Gold prices held steady below the $1,500
per ounce level on Tuesday as markets braced for talks between
Britain and the European Union that will determine how smooth
Britain's departure will be from the trading bloc.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= were flat at $1,492.83 per ounce, as of
0105 GMT. U.S. gold futures GCcv1 were a shade lower at
$1,496.90.
* Asian shares edged higher on hopes that Britain could
clinch a deal to smooth its departure from the European Union
before the scheduled date of Oct. 31. MKTS/GLOB
* Officials from Britain and the EU will meet at a
make-or-break summit on Thursday and Friday that will determine
whether or not Britain is headed for a so-called no-deal Brexit.
* However, diplomats indicated the bloc wanted more
concessions from British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and said a
full agreement was unlikely this week. * Dearth of fresh news on U.S.-China trade talks kept
markets on the edge.
* U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Monday that
an additional round of tariffs on Chinese imports will likely be
imposed if a trade deal with China has not been reached by
December, but added that he expected the agreement to go
through. * Late on Friday, the United States outlined the first phase
of a trade deal and suspended this week's scheduled tariff hikes
on Chinese goods, but existing tariffs remained in place and
officials on both sides said much more work was needed before an
accord could be agreed.
* Markets also look for signs the U.S. Federal Reserve will
cut interest rates at its next meeting later in the month.
* Elsewhere, Australia's Newcrest Mining Ltd NCM.AX , the
country's biggest gold producer, said on Tuesday it will go
ahead with a $685 million first-stage expansion of its flagship
Cadia mine in New South Wales. * Zimbabwe expects to increase diamond production to 11
million carats by 2023 from 3.2 million carats last year, the
mines minister said on Monday, part of an ambitious plan to
raise mining output and earn the country $12 billion a year.
AHEAD (GMT)
0130 China PPI YY Sept
0130 China CPI YY Sept
0400 Indonesia Trade Balance Sept
0645 France CPI (EU Norm) Final MM, YY Sept
0830 UK Claimant Count Unemployment Change Sept
0830 UK ILO Unemployment Rate Aug
0830 UK Bank of England publishes record of October
Financial Policy Committee meeting
0900 Germany ZEW Economic Sentiment Oct
0900 Germany ZEW Current Conditions Oct
1800 EU Reserve Assets Total Sept