Gold prices steady as economic worries support, gains in equities drag

Gold prices were steady near six-month highs on Friday, supported by worries over economic growth but pressured by gains in global equity markets.FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold had risen 0.1 percent to $1,276.15 per ounce as at 0126 GMT. The metal on Wednesday hit its highest level since June 19 at $1,279.06.

* U.S. gold futures inched down 0.2 percent to $1,278.1 per ounce.

* The dollar index <.dxy>, a gauge of its value versus six major peers, was marginally weaker at 96.57, after losing 0.5 percent overnight. [USD/]

* U.S. stocks roared back to end in positive territory on Thursday following steep losses for much of the session, as equities rebounded for a second day. [MKTS/GLOB]

* A measure of U.S. consumer confidence posted its sharpest decline in more than three years in December, rattling investors already nervous about the prospect that a global economic slowdown was spilling over into the United States.

* U.S. President Donald Trump is considering an executive order in the new year to declare a national emergency that would bar U.S. companies from using telecommunications equipment made by China`s Huawei and ZTE, three sources familiar with the situation told Reuters.

* China and the United States have made plans for face-to-face consultations over trade in January, the Chinese commerce ministry said on Thursday, as the world`s two biggest economies advanced efforts to resolve a months-long trade war.

* Earnings at China`s industrial firms in November dropped for the first time in nearly three years, as slackening external and domestic demand left businesses facing more strain in 2019 in a sign of rising risks to the world`s second-largest economy.

* China`s net gold imports via main conduit Hong Kong rose 28 percent in November from the previous month to their highest since July, data showed on Thursday.

* SPDR Gold Trust , the world`s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell 0.30 percent to 787.67 tonnes on Thursday from 790.02 tonnes on Wednesday.

(This article has not been edited by Zeebiz editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)