Dec 17 (Reuters) - Gold prices were little changed on Tuesday as differing views of Chinese and U.S. officials on the interim trade deal announced last week kept investors on the sidelines.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= was trading at $1,475.74 per ounce by 0044 GMT. U.S. gold futures GCv1 were flat at $1,480.20.
* The "Phase One" trade deal has been "absolutely completed", a top White House adviser said on Monday, adding that U.S. exports to China will double under the agreement. However, Beijing remained cautious ahead of the signing of the agreement. Under the agreement, Washington will reduce some tariffs on Chinese imports in exchange for Chinese purchases of agricultural, manufactured and energy products increasing by about $200 billion over the next two years. Asian shares climbed but a lack of detail about the preliminary deal capped gains. MKTS/GLOB
* Gold, considered a safe investment in times of political and economic uncertainty, has gained about 15% this year, mainly driven by the 17-month-long tariff war and its impact on the global economy.
* Gold miners Endeavour and Centamin have agreed to assess the feasibility of a merger, following a weekend meeting between top managers of the two companies. Elsewhere, palladium XPD= rose 0.2% to $1,981.54 an ounce. Prices hit an all-time peak of $1,991.38 in the previous session.
* Silver XAG= rose 0.1% to $17.04 per ounce, while platinum XPT= was unchanged at $928.93.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT) 0930 UK
Claimant Count Unem Chng Nov 0930 UK
ILO Unemployment Rate
Oct 1330 US
Housing Starts Number
Nov 1415 US
Industrial Production MM Nov