Gold prices edge up as dollar, Asian stocks ease

BENGALURU (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)

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