Gold prices inch down as global political tensions ease

Gold prices edged down early on Friday as global political tensions eased, but expectations for rising inflation supported demand for the safe-have asset.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold was down 0.1 percent at USD 1,344.20 an ounce at 0044 GMT, while US gold futures fell 0.2 percent to USD 1,346.60 per ounce. Spot gold is also down 0.1 percent so far this week.

* US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he hoped a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un would be successful, while Western missile strikes in Syria were less extensive than some had feared.

* Investors were also relieved that no new US demands on trade came out of a summit between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and US President Donald Trump.

* Asian shares slipped on Friday as a warning on smartphone demand from the world's largest contract chipmaker slugged the tech sector, while lofty oil prices stirred inflation fears and undermined sovereign bonds.

* The relatively optimistic backdrop in the United States should support the Federal Reserve in raising short-term rates at least twice more in 2018, traders and analysts said.

The US economy, while not firing on all cylinders, has remained on a steady growth path which has assured the Fed it should stick with its current pace of rate increases.

* Bank of England Governor Mark Carney on Thursday acknowledged the recent mixed domestic economic readings, which reinforced the view the BOE would raise rates gradual over the next few years.

* Meanwhile, Iran warned the United States on Thursday of "unpleasant" consequences if Washington pulls out of a multinational nuclear deal, Iranian state TV reported.

* Work has resumed at two gold mines operated by Randgold Resources in Mali, after strikes that halted production since Wednesday, a senior union official told Reuters.

* Global diamond giant De Beers is rolling out an app to help small-scale, artisanal diamond miners in Sierra Leone certify that gems they pry from the soil are legal, the Anglo American unit said on Thursday.