PRECIOUS-Gold prices edge up as dollar, Asian stocks ease

    BENGALURU, April 10 (Reuters) - Gold prices ticked up in
early Asian trade on Tuesday as the dollar and Asian stocks
slipped, while concerns about the prospect of an escalation in
the China-U.S. trade spat and reports of a poison gas attack in
Syria offered support as well.
    
    FUNDAMENTALS 
    * Spot gold        rose for a third straight session and was
0.1 percent higher at $1,337.11 an ounce as of 0045 GMT. U.S.
gold futures         were steady at $1,340.60 an ounce.
    * Asian shares sagged on Tuesday after U.S. equities ended
far from their highs in the previous session and the dollar
eased against its peers amid lingering trade conflict concerns.
                  
    * China stepped up its attacks on the Trump administration
on Monday over billions of dollars worth of threatened tariffs,
but U.S. President Donald Trump again voiced optimism the two
sides would hammer out a trade deal.                          
    * Investors will look for further signs of China's stance on
trade relations when Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks at the
Boao Forum economic conference on Tuesday. 
    * Trump on Monday promised quick, forceful action in
response to a deadly suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria,
appearing to suggest a potential military response.             
    * The United States plans to call for a U.N. Security
Council vote on Tuesday on a proposal for a new inquiry into
responsibility for use of chemical weapons in Syria after
reports of a poison gas attack on a rebel-held town, diplomats
said.             
    * Syria and its main ally Russia blamed Israel for carrying
out an attack on a Syrian air base near Homs on Monday which
followed reports of a poison gas attack by President Bashar
al-Assad's forces on a rebel-held town.             
    * Russia's rouble suffered its biggest daily fall in over
three years on Monday and stocks in major Russian companies also
slid, as investors reacted to a new round of U.S. sanctions
targeting some of Russia's biggest tycoons.             
    * Investor morale in the euro zone deteriorated for the
third month in April, a survey showed on Monday, on concerns
about a slowdown in global growth as trade tensions rise between
the United States and China.             
    * India's gold imports in March halved from a year ago to
52.5 tonnes as a rally in local prices to 16-month high slashed
demand in the world's second-biggest consumer of bullion,
provisional data from precious metals consultancy GFMS and bank
dealers showed.             
    * Turkey raised its gold holdings by 4.5 tonnes to 595.477
tonnes in March, International Monetary Fund data showed on
Monday.             
    * Endeavour Silver Corp          said on Monday it produced
1,350,840 ounces of silver and 13,208 ounces of gold (2.3
million oz silver equivalents) in the first quarter of 2018.
           
    * Newmont Mining Corp         said on Tuesday operations at
Ahafo and Akyem have restarted, but the Ahafo Mill Expansion
project and all surface civil construction work will remain
suspended until the company and the authorities are satisfied of
safe work resumption.            

 (Reporting by Swati Verma in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu
Sahu)