Nov 27 (Reuters) - Gold prices inched lower on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump said an interim trade deal with China is close, boosting demand for riskier assets.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= was down 0.1% at $1,459.91 per ounce by 0103 GMT. Prices touched a two-week low of $1,450.30 in the previous session. U.S. gold futures GCv1 were unchanged at $1,460.60.
* Washington and Beijing are close to an agreement on the first phase of a trade deal, Trump said on Tuesday, after top negotiators from the two countries spoke by telephone and agreed to keep working on remaining issues. Asian shares rose after Wall Street crawled to new record closing highs on hopes for a U.S.-China trade deal. MKTS/GLOB
* U.S. consumer confidence fell for a fourth straight month in November amid worries about current business conditions and employment prospects. Sales of new U.S. single-family homes unexpectedly fell in October following recent strong gains. The U.S. goods trade deficit fell sharply in October as both exports and imports declined, pointing to a continued reduction in trade flows. It is "essential" that the U.S. Federal Reserve lift inflation to its 2% target over time in order to avoid the sort of "downward spiral" of low interest rates and growth that central banks in Europe and Japan have struggled with, Fed Governor Lael Brainard said. China's October net gold imports via Hong Kong fell to their lowest level since July, Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department data showed. Russia's RDIF sovereign wealth fund said it planned to attract China Gold as a strategic partner for a mining and processing project in the Krasnoyarsk region in Siberia. Silver XAG= fell 0.1% to $17.05 per ounce, palladium XPD= shed 0.2% to $1,805.90 per ounce and platinum XPT= was down 0.2% to $905.36.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT) 1330 US
Durable Goods
Oct 1330 US
GDP 2nd Estimate
Q3 1330 US
Initial Jobless Claims
Weekly 1500 US
Consumption, Adjusted MM Oct 1900 US
Federal Reserve issues Beige Book of economic condition