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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