Gold prices edge up ahead of U.S.-EU trade talks

By Karen Rodrigues

BENGALURU (Reuters) - Gold prices inched higher on Wednesday as the dollar held steady ahead of a meeting between the U.S. and European Commission presidents to discuss trade-related issues.

Spot gold was up 0.2 percent at $1,226.19 an ounce at 0719 GMT.

U.S. gold futures for August delivery were 0.1 percent higher at $1,226.20 an ounce.

"Gold prices have edged up as market sentiments eased off gently on robust dollar prospects ... prices look likely to trade within a tight range for now as market forces discern the next move," said Benjamin Lu, a commodities analyst at Singapore-based broker Phillip Futures.

The dollar and euro were little changed on Wednesday, ahead of the meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.

The meeting comes after the United States imposed tariffs on EU steel and aluminium in June and Trump threatened to extend those measures to European cars and car parts.

Meanwhile, investors are also awaiting the second-quarter U.S. economic growth data which is due on Friday, where they expect growth to top current forecasts of 4.1 percent.

INTL FCStone analyst Edward Meir said he still remains "somewhat cautious" on the precious metals group.

In addition to poor-looking technicals, the market is vulnerable to the dollar resuming its upswing, anything north of 4.2 percent in Friday's GDP figures could lead to yet another push-up in the greenback and pressure gold lower, Meir said in a note.

A now-robust U.S. economy will soon lose momentum on rising interest rates and escalating trade disputes, according to economists polled by Reuters, who nonetheless gave just a one-in-three chance of a recession over the next two years.

Spot gold remains neutral in a range of $1,214-$1,237 per ounce, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said. [TECH/C]

Among other precious metals, silver was up 0.1 percent at $15.46 an ounce and palladium rose 0.4 percent to $918.17 an ounce.

Both the metals touched a one-week high on Tuesday.

Platinum was 0.5 percent higher at $832.65 per ounce. It hit a two-week high at $845.90 in the previous session.

(Reporting by Karen Rodrigues in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Vyas Mohan)