Nov 18 (Reuters) - Gold eased on Monday, pressured by
optimism over U.S.-China trade ties following a report of
"constructive talks" over the weekend, but held within a tight
range as caution set in with investors awaiting concrete signals
on the negotiations.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= inched down 0.1% to $1,465.62 per ounce
at 0157 GMT, while U.S. gold futures GCv1 were down 0.1%
at$1,466.80 per ounce.
* The United States and China had a high-level phone call on
Saturday, Chinese state media Xinhua said on Sunday, but it gave
no further details. The two sides discussed each other's core
issues for the first phase of an initial trade agreement.
* Asian share markets got the week off to a muted start as
investors awaited real evidence on progress in the tariff war,
though sentiment found support from another record close on Wall
Street. MKTS/GLOB
* In Hong Kong, police on Monday trapped hundreds of
protesters inside a major university and demonstrators rampaged
through a tourist district, after almost two straight days of
standoffs that have raised fears of a bloody showdown.
* Hedge funds and money managers reduced their bullish
positions in COMEX gold and silver contracts in the week to Nov.
12, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said on
Friday. CFTC/
* U.S. retail sales rebounded moderately in October
supported by the lowest unemployment rate in nearly 50 years,
data showed on Friday. * Australia's Saracen Mineral Holdings Ltd SAR.AX said on
Monday it would buy Canadian-listed Barrick Gold Corp's ABX.TO
50% stake in the Super Pit gold mine in Western Australia for
$750 million. * South African miner AngloGold Ashanti ANGJ.J suspended
its gold mining operations in Guinea after a community protested
on its Siguiri mining site, its Guinea subsidiary Societe
Aurifère de Guinee (SAG) said in a statement. (GMT)
1500 US NAHB Housing Market Index Nov