PRECIOUS-Gold consolidates after record rally; focus on U.S.-China talks

By Anmol Choubey

Oct 20 (Reuters) - Gold prices inched higher on Monday after a record rally, as expectations of more U.S. rate cuts and safe-haven demand from the ongoing government shutdown supported sentiment, while investors awaited cues from upcoming U.S.-China trade talks.

Spot gold XAU= was up 0.1% at $4,254.59 per ounce, as of 0801 GMT. U.S. gold futures GCcv1 for December delivery climbed 1.3% to $4,268.40 per ounce.

Spot silver XAG= rose 0.2% to $51.97, recovering slightly after falling 4.4% on Friday after hitting a record high of $54.47 earlier that day.

"We're holding well above $4000 in gold and $50 in silver and as long as we do that I do not expect any major amount of long liquidation coming into the market," said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, adding that gold is still very bullish.

The U.S. government shutdown is still adding some underlying support while the upcoming US-China meeting will be major focus, Hansen said.

U.S. President Donald Trump said his proposed 100% tariff on goods from China would not be sustainable adding he would meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in two week.

Gold, which has hit multiple record highs this year, with the latest on Friday at $4,378.69, gained more traction last week after the U.S. threatened steep tariff hikes over China's rare-earth export controls, but fell more than 1.8% on Friday following Trump's remarks.

The US CPI data which was delayed due to the ongoing U.S. government shutdown, will be released on Friday, days before the Fed's October 28–29 policy meeting and is expected to show that core inflation held at 3.1% in September.

Meanwhile, China's economic growth slowed to the weakest pace in a year in the third quarter.

"The weakness in the Chinese property market remains a key source of support for the gold market," Hansen said.

Elsewhere, platinum XPT= fell 0.5% to $1,601.57 per ounce and palladium XPD= dropped 1.2% to $1,455.73 per ounce.

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