Gold prices edge higher on softer dollar, trade worries

BENGALURU (Reuters) - Gold prices crept higher early on Tuesday, after falling about 1 percent to a six-and-a-half-month low in the previous session, as a softer dollar and mounting global trade tensions supported the safe-haven metal.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold was up 0.1 percent at $1,242.23 an ounce as of 0044 GMT. It fell about 1 percent to $1,239.20, its lowest since Dec. 12, on Monday.

* U.S. gold futures were 0.1 percent higher at $1,243.10 an ounce.

* The dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was 0.2 percent lower at 94.864, after gaining about 0.4 percent the previous day. [USD/]

* U.S. President Donald Trump warned the World Trade Organization on Monday that "we'll be doing something" if the United States is not treated properly, just hours after the European Union said that U.S. automotive tariffs would hurt its own vehicle industry and prompt retaliation.

* The White House said on Monday that Canada's decision to enact tariffs on C$16.6 billion ($12.63 billion) worth of American goods in retaliation for U.S. tariffs on imports of Canadian steel and aluminium would not help its economy.

* The U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Monday denounced President Trump's handling of global trade disputes, issuing a report that argued tariffs imposed by Washington and retaliation by its partners would boomerang badly on the American economy.

* Investors have sharply increased their use of hedging strategies, signalling concerns that the intensifying trade battle between the United States and China might hit economies from Germany to South Korea.

* U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will leave for North Korea on Thursday seeking agreement on a plan for the country's denuclearization, despite mounting doubts about Pyongyang's willingness to abandon a weapons program that threatens the United States and its allies.

* U.S. manufacturing activity surged in June, but a strong economy and import tariffs were causing bottlenecks in the supply chain, which could potentially weigh on production in the months ahead.

* The U.S. economy is growing at a 4.1 percent annualised rate in the second quarter in the wake of the latest data on construction spending and manufacturing activity, the Atlanta Federal Reserve's GDPNow forecast model showed on Monday.

* The Perth Mint's sales of gold products in June increased about 14 percent from May sales, while silver sales fell about 60 percent from the prior month, the mint said on Monday.

* Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust , the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell 1.19 percent to 809.31 tonnes on Monday. [GOL/ETF]

DATA AHEAD (GMT)

0900 Euro zone Producer prices May

0900 Euro zone Retail sales May

1345 U.S. ISM-New York index June

1400 U.S. Factory orders May

(Reporting by Karen Rodrigues in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri)