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· Gold prices ticked up on Monday as investors were cautious ahead of this week’s Sino-U.S. trade talks following a report that Beijing would likely disagree to a broad trade deal with the United States.

Spot gold inched 0.1% higher to $1,505.38 per ounce, as of 0612 GMT. Prices had firmed 0.5% last week on fears of cooling global growth.

U.S. gold futures slipped 0.1% to $1,511.00 per ounce.

· The next round of U.S-China trade talks are set to be held in Washington on Oct. 10-11, although hopes of progress diminished after a report that Chinese officials wanted the scope of this week’s negotiations to be narrow.

· There is uncertainty regarding the trade negotiations. China seems to be very reluctant to agree, said Margaret Yang Yan, a market analyst at CMC Markets. “There is demand for safe haven assets, which reflects a very cautious mood towards the trade deal.”

The long-drawn trade tussle between the world’s two largest economies has toppled markets globally and triggered fears of a possible recession.

“Gold has been in a range of less than $100. It will take a strong catalyst to bring gold out of this channel,” Yan said, adding that quantitative easing by the U.S. Fed, European Central Bank and Bank of Japan could be a major factor.

· Jobs growth in the United States slowed in September and wage growth stalled, even as unemployment dropped to a 50-year low, a report on Friday showed.

But that did little to change market expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will likely cut interest rates at its next policy review on Oct. 29-30 to support the economy.

· Meanwhile, China’s foreign exchange reserves fell more than expected in September amid a cooling domestic economy and the rising trade tensions.

· Spot gold may test a support at $1,488 per ounce, a break below which could cause a fall towards the range of $1,446-$1,462, said Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao.

· Gold sits pretty in $1500 handle ahead of trade talks

The yellow metal, gold, is relatively flat at the start of this week with both Australia and China out on holidays. The price is back above the psychological $1,500's and sights are set for higher levels as we head over to trade talk territories. At the time of writing, Gold is trading at $1,508 between a tight range of $1,508.60 and $1,509.39.

US and Chinese trades are set to start again this week. However, there are already reports that China is not about to renegociate on any of the demands that have been holding up progress. In a Bloomberg article, it was told that Vice Premier Liu He said to dignitaries that he would, "bring an offer to Washington that won't include commitments on reforming Chinese industrial policy or the government subsidies".

For the week ahead, besides trade talks, we have a number of other key events for the US, including Fed governor Powell, speaking, the FOMC minutes and US consumer Price Index.

Reference: Reuters, FX Street, Daily FX