Gold prices hold steady as dollar eases

(Reuters) - Gold prices held steady on Thursday, after rising nearly a percent in the previous session, as the dollar retreated further from a 16-month peak against a basket of currencies.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold was little changed at $1,210.65 per ounce at 0055 GMT.

* U.S. gold futures were flat 0.1 percent at $1,203 per ounce.

* The dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was down about 0.1 percent, nudged down by firmer pound and euro. [USD/]

* British Prime Minister Theresa May won the backing of her senior ministers for a draft European Union divorce deal on Wednesday, freeing her to tackle the much more perilous struggle of getting parliament to approve the agreement. [nL8N1XP2A9]

* Italy re-submitted its draft 2019 budget to the European Commission with the same growth and deficit assumptions as a draft rejected for breaking European Union rules, stepping up its showdown with the EU over its fiscal policy. [nL8N1XP1RR]

* U.S. consumer prices increased by the most in nine months in October amid gains in the cost of gasoline and rents, pointing to steadily rising inflation that likely will keep the Federal Reserve on track to raise interest rates again next month. [nL2N1XO1SN]

* Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the introduction of press conferences after every Federal Reserve meeting next year means all meetings are now "live" for possible rate increases. [nL2N1XP29P]

* China has delivered a written response to U.S. demands for wide-ranging trade reforms, three U.S. government sources said on Wednesday, a move that could trigger negotiations to bring an end to a withering trade war between the world's top economies. [nL2N1XP24M]

* Paulson & Co, led by longtime gold bull John Paulson, kept its stake in gold investments during the third quarter of 2018 while other heavyweights including Soros Fund Management LLC, Jana Partners LLC and Caxton Corp remained unexposed to the metal. [nL2N1XP274]

* Pan American Silver Corp said Wednesday it has agreed to buy Tahoe Resources Inc in a $1.07 billion cash and stock deal that would create a top global silver miner but also include some troublesome assets. [nL4N1XP3X6]

DATA AHEAD (GMT)

0130 China House prices Oct

0930 UK Retail sales Oct

1000 Euro zone Eurostat trade Sept

1330 U.S. New York Fed manufacturing Nov

1330 U.S. Import prices Oct

1330 U.S. Export prices Oct

1330 U.S. Weekly jobless claims

1330 U.S. Philly Fed business index Nov

1330 U.S. Retail sales Oct

1500 U.S. Business inventories Sept

(Reporting by Eileen Soreng in Bengaluru, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)