(Corrects date in third bullet to say Washington passed defence bill on Dec. 17, not Dec. 9)
Dec 23 (Reuters) - Gold prices held steady on Monday in thin trading, as investors refrained from making big bets ahead of the Christmas and New Year holidays while waiting for fresh developments on the Sino-U.S. trade front.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= was up 0.1% at $1,479.05 per ounce by 0106 GMT. U.S. gold futures GCv1 rose 0.1% to $1,482.90 per ounce.
* U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday said the United States and China would "very shortly" sign their so-called Phase One trade pact, but the markets still craved for further details of the agreement. China's top lawmaking body on Saturday criticised the defence bill that Washington passed on Dec. 17 as "interference", state news agency Xinhua reported. U.S. economic growth nudged up in the third quarter, while consumer spending increased solidly in November, pointing to moderate economic growth that could support the Federal Reserve's desire to keep interest rates unchanged indefinitely, data on Friday showed. China, the world's top bullion producer and consumer, launched its first gold options contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange on Friday. Iran, Malaysia, Turkey and Qatar are considering trading among themselves in gold and through a barter system as a hedge against any future economic sanctions on them, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Saturday. Holdings of the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust GLD , rose 0.3% to 885.93 tonnes on Friday. GOL/ETF
* Speculators increased their bullish positions in COMEX gold and silver contracts in the week to Dec. 17. CFTC/
* Gold demand was subdued in major Asian hubs last week, with India in the midst of protests against a new citizenship law that disrupted some retail buying and traders elsewhere banking on the Chinese New Year for an uptick in sales. GOL/AS
* AngloGold Ashanti said it expected its Obuasi gold mine in Ghana to produce about 350,000 ounces to 400,000 ounces per year for the first 10 years. Elsewhere, palladium XPD= fell 0.5% to $1,846.83 per ounce, after declining as much as 5% in the previous session.
* Silver XAG= was flat at $17.19 per ounce, while platinum XPT= gained 0.9% to $916.70.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT) 0200* China Final Trade Data
Nov 1230 U.S. Durable Goods
Nov 1230 U.S. Durables ex-Transport
Nov 1330 Canada GDP MM
Oct 1500 U.S. New Homes Sales Units
Nov 2350 Japan Bank of Japan releases minutes of monetary policy meeting held on Oct. 30 and 31. *no precise release time