Sept 19 (Reuters) - Gold prices edged lower on Thursday as
investors remained cautious after the U.S. Federal Reserve cut
interest rates as expected but delivered mixed signals about its
next move.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= was 0.3% lower at $1,489.73 per ounce, as
of 0102 GMT. Prices fell as much as 1% in the previous session
before settling down 0.6%.
* U.S. gold futures GCv1 were down 1.2% at $1,497.5 per
ounce.
* The dollar stood tall on Thursday, while Asian shares
edged higher tracking some modest Wall Street gains. USD/
MKTS/GLOB
* The Fed cut interest rates again on Wednesday to help
sustain a record-long economic expansion, but signalled a higher
bar to further reductions in borrowing costs, eliciting a fast
and sharp rebuke from U.S. President Donald Trump. * Lower interest rates reduce the opportunity cost of
holding non-yielding bullion and weigh on the dollar.
* With continued economic growth and strong hiring "the most
likely outcomes", the Fed nevertheless cited "uncertainties"
about the outlook and pledged to "act as appropriate" to sustain
the expansion.
* U.S. homebuilding surged to more than a 12-year high in
August as both single- and multi-family housing construction
accelerated, suggesting that lower mortgage rates were finally
providing a boost to the struggling housing market. * The European Union warned on Wednesday that Britain was
headed for a damaging no-deal Brexit, with London's ideas for
solving the contentious issue of the Irish border still unlikely
to unlock a deal just six weeks before Britain is due to leave.
* U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday there were
many options short of war with Iran after U.S. ally Saudi Arabia
displayed remnants of drones and missiles it said were used in a
crippling attack on its oil sites that was "unquestionably
sponsored" by Tehran.
* Bank of Japan policymakers will debate the feasibility of
ramping up already massive stimulus on Thursday but are expected
to save their limited ammunition for a while longer, despite
growing risks to the country's fragile economic recovery.
* SPDR Gold Trust GLD , the world's largest gold-backed
exchange-traded fund, said its holdings rose 0.37% to 883.60
tonnes on Wednesday from 880.37 tonnes on Tuesday. * Canadian miner Iamgold Corp IMG.TO would fit well with
China Gold International Resource Corp Ltd's CGG.TO
acquisition strategy as the Chinese state-run company seeks to
buy gold-producing mines, an executive with the overseas arm of
China National Gold Group said on Wednesday. AHEAD
0830 UK Retail Sales MM, YY Aug
0830 UK Retail Sales Ex-Fuel MM Aug
1100 UK BOE Bank Rate Sept
1100 UK BOE QE Corp Sept
1230 US Initial Jobless Claims Weekly
1230 US Philly Fed Business Index Sept
1400 US Existing Home Sales Aug