Gold prices on Monday hovered around the $1,500 per ounce level as the U.S.-China trade conflict dragged on, while fears of a global economic slowdown increased.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold was steady at $1,496.99 per ounce as of 0114 GMT.

* U.S. gold futures too were flat at $1,508.50 an ounce.

* Goldman Sachs on Sunday said recession risks were increasing due to the Sino-U.S. trade war, and cut its forecast for fourth-quarter U.S. growth.

* On Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump said he was not ready to make a deal with China and even called a September round of trade talks into question.

* Subsequently, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said that the U.S. was still planning to hold another round of trade talks with Chinese negotiators.

* Hedge funds and money managers raised their bullish stance in COMEX gold in the week to Aug. 6, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said on Friday.

* Physical gold demand in Asian hubs last week was quiet due to surging prices.

* The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was nearly unchanged.

DATA AHEAD (GMT)

* 1230 Brazil IBC-BR Economic Activity June (approx. time)

(Reporting by Harshith Aranya in Bengaluru; editing by Richard Pullin)

© Reuters News 2019