PRECIOUS-Gold steady as investors await U.S. retail sales data

(Updates prices)
* Markets price in 25bp cut by the U.S. Fed
* Platinum hovers near a two-month high
* Sliver hits a three-week peak
* Spot gold remains neutral in $1,404-$1,421/oz range -
techs

By Brijesh Patel
July 16 (Reuters) - Gold prices held steady on Tuesday as
investors awaited U.S. retail sales data that could serve as an
indicator of the strength of the world's largest economy amid
lingering concerns over global economic slowdown.
Spot gold XAU= was flat at $1,413.68 per ounce, as of 0734
GMT.
U.S. gold futures GCv1 were up 0.2% at $1,415.80 an ounce.
"Today we are sort of getting neutralised because we are
heading into retail sales tonight. Investors are positioning
realising there could be a knee-jerk reaction lower again if
retail sales numbers come out strong," said Stephen Innes,
managing partner, Vanguard Markets.
However, "I don't think it (retail sales data) is going to
make a huge difference in overall scheme of things as far as the
Fed narrative goes," Innes added.
The U.S. data, due later in the day, is expected to imply
that retail sales had edged up 0.1% in June, according to the
median estimate of economists polled by Reuters.
Meanwhile, the dollar index .DXY was relatively unchanged
against a basket of major currencies as the prospect of an
interest rate cut by U.S. central bank later this month kept the
greenback on the defensive. USD/
Markets have priced in a 25-basis-point cut by the Fed at
its meeting at the end of this month.
Gold hit $1,438.63 for the first time in six years last
month, supported by expectations of a rate cut by major central
banks and concerns about the global economy. Ahead of the release of U.S. retail sales figures, signs of
an improving economic situation in the United States on the back
of strong jobs data have led to a steepening of the U.S. yield
curve, led by higher longer-dated yields. US/
"We are relatively neutral on gold at this stage, since we
are not seeing much movement in other markets that could
potentially impact it, namely, a clear direction for the dollar
and U.S. Treasury yields," INTL FCStone analyst Edward Meir said
in a note.
On the trade front, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin
said he and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer would
speak with their Chinese counterparts by phone again this week
as part of the recently resumed trade talks. Spot gold remains neutral in a narrow range of $1,404-$1,421
per ounce, and an escape could suggest a direction, according to
Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao. Among other precious metals, silver XAG= rose 0.3% to
$15.44 per ounce, its highest since June 25, while palladium
XPD= fell 0.8% to $1,555.04.
Platinum XPT= gained 0.5% to $843.35 an ounce, hovering
near a two-month high of $846.53 hit in the previous session.