Sept 17 (Reuters) - Gold prices held steady on Tuesday as
traders broadly remained on the sidelines ahead of an expected
rate cut from the U.S. Federal Reserve this week.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= was steady at $1,497.40 per ounce, as of
0112 GMT.
* U.S. gold futures GCv1 were down 0.4% at $1,504.9 per
ounce.
* Oil exporter currencies held firm, while the U.S. dollar
found broad support as recent attacks on Saudi oil facilities
and the threat of military action in the region buoyed crude
prices, while stocks were under pressure. USD/ MKTS/GLOB
* U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday said it looked like
Iran was behind attacks on oil plants in Saudi Arabia but
stressed he did not want to go to war, while the attacks sent
oil prices soaring and raised fears of a new Middle East
conflict. * The weekend bombings of Saudi Arabia's main oil refinery
have already stoked Trump to pressure the U.S. Fed to lower
rates. * Deputy-level U.S.-China trade talks are scheduled to start
in Washington on Thursday, the U.S. Trade Representative's
office said on Monday, paving the way for high-level talks in
October aimed at resolving a bitter trade war. * Britain's Boris Johnson said on Monday that a Brexit deal
was beginning to emerge, but the European Union said he offered
nothing to break the impasse during a visit to Luxembourg where
he was harangued loudly by protesters and rebuked for trying to
shift the blame. * Credit rating agency Moody's changed its outlook on Hong
Kong's rating to "negative" from "stable" on Monday, reflecting
what it called the rising risk of "an erosion in the strength of
Hong Kong's institutions" amid the city's ongoing protests.
* Trump said on Monday that the United States has reached
initial trade agreements with Japan on tariff barriers and
digital trade that will not require congressional approval.
* Gold prices look to have established a new floor at $1,500
per ounce, Kinross Gold Corp's K.TO chief executive officer
said on Monday, giving the Canadian miner confidence to push
ahead with expansion plans at a key West African mine.
AHEAD
0900 Germany ZEW Economic Sentiment Sept
0900 Germany ZEW Current Conditions Sept
1315 US Industrial Production MM Aug