* Spot silver up after marking 2-1/2-year low
* Platinum rises after sinking to lowest since 2008
(Adds comment, updates prices)
By Apeksha Nair
BENGALURU, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Gold clawed back from a19-month low on Thursday on short-covering and as the U.S.dollar softened following news that Beijing will hold tradetalks with Washington late this month.
A Chinese delegation led by Vice Minister of Commerce WangShouwen will meet with U.S. representatives led by UnderSecretary of Treasury for International Affairs David Malpass,the Ministry of Commerce said, offering a glimmer of hope forprogress in resolving a conflict that has set world markets onedge.
The news moved the dollar further away from a 13-month peakas risk aversion eased.
Spot gold
Earlier in the session, amid a broad commodity sell-off and some stop-loss selling spot prices fell as much as 1.2 percentto $1,159.96, the lowest since January 2017, traders said.
"We expect interest in the precious metal to rekindle as thestrength in the USD fades. But that might be a bit of a whileyet," said John Sharma, an economist at National Australia Bank.
Gold prices, which have largely been pressured by a strongdollar and rising U.S. interest rates, have shed nearly 10percent in 2018.
"The market has come down $50-$60 in a short period, so itis not surprising to see a little short-term recovery," said aSydney-based trader.
"We are higher this afternoon but I don't think prices havestabilised here. There's a lot of volatility and the market isstill under pressure."
Bullion has also lost its appeal as a safe-haven over thepast few months as investors preferred to park assets in thedollar and Treasuries.
Asian shares also pulled away from one-year lows after newsof the trade talks, although Turkey's currency crisis and fearsof an economic slowdown in China kept most markets in the red.
In an ongoing dispute with Turkey, which has roiledfinancial and currency markets, the United States on Wednesdayruled out removing steel tariffs, even if Ankara frees a U.S.pastor, as Qatar pledged $15 billion in investment to Turkey,supporting a rise in the Turkish lira.
Some emerging markets pared their holdings of U.S.Treasuries in June, data from the U.S. Treasury departmentshowed on Wednesday, in what analysts viewed as a move tosupport their currencies as the Federal Reserve started raisinginterest rates this year.
Higher U.S. rates tend to boost the dollar and bond yields,adding pressure on greenback-denominated, non-yielding gold.
Meanwhile, spot silver
Platinum
Palladium
(Reporting by Apeksha Nair in BENGALURU; Editing by Tom Hogueand Subhranshu Sahu) ((Apeksha.Nair@thomsonreuters.com; within U.S. +1 651 848 5832,outside U.S. +91 80 6749 6408/1298; Reuters Messaging:apeksha.nair.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))