PRECIOUS-Gold inches lower on trade optimism; all eyes on U.S. GDP data

    Dec 20 (Reuters) - Gold prices inched lower on Friday due to
increased risk appetite on hopes of an interim Sino-U.S. deal
being signed soon and as investors awaited the release of U.S.
gross domestic product data. 
        
    FUNDAMENTALS
    * Spot gold        edged 0.1% lower to $1,478.00 per ounce
by 0135 GMT. U.S. gold futures        fell 0.2% to $1,482.00 per
ounce.
    * U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Thursday
the United States and China would sign their so-called Phase one
trade pact at the beginning of January, adding that it would not
be subject to any renegotiation.             
    * China's Finance Ministry unveiled a new list of import
tariff exemptions for a duration of one year starting Dec. 26
for six chemical and oil products from the United States.
                         
    * Asian shares firmed, close to the 18-month peak, as trade
thinned in the run-up to Christmas and the market absorbed the
positive trade update.            
    * The dollar index       , all set to gain for the first
week in four, held steady against a basket of currencies, making
gold cheaper for holders of other currencies.       
    * In United States, economic data showed mixed signals as
the initial jobless claims report was strong with applications
for unemployment benefits slipping from a more than two-year
high, while factory activity data for the Mid-Atlantic region
was almost flat in December.             
    * Prime Minister Boris Johnson unveiled what he called a
radical government agenda on Thursday, setting his sights on a
quick Brexit, future trade deals and on transforming Britain to
repay the trust of voters who handed him a landslide election
victory.             
    * Elsewhere, palladium        rose 0.4% to $1,943.74 per
ounce. The metal prices had hit an all-time peak of $1,998.43 on
Tuesday.
    * Silver        slid 0.1% to $17.03 per ounce, while
platinum        edged up 0.1% to $934.60.
       
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0930  UK      GDP QQ, YY                 Q3
1200  Brazil  IPCA-15 Mid-Month CPI      Dec
1330  US      GDP Final                  Q3
1500  US      Consumption, Adjusted MM   Nov
1500  US      U Mich Sentiment Final     Dec
1500  EU      Consumer Confidence Flash  Dec

 (Reporting by Asha Sistla in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)