(Reuters) - Gold prices were steady on Thursday, as investors focused on talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, and looked for signs of progress in the Iran war.
Spot gold was steady at $4,688.43 per ounce, as of 0212 GMT. U.S. gold futures for June delivery fell 0.2% at $4,695.
"Gold seems to be consolidating at the moment as everybody is looking at what's going to happen in the high-level talks between the U.S. and China," said GoldSilver Central Managing Director Brian Lan.
"(Gold) is a bit downward-biased and I think that is also a window for investors who are looking to come into the metal," Lan added.
Trump heads into a series of meetings with Xi in Beijing, aiming to secure economic wins, maintain a fragile trade truce and navigate thorny issues such as the Middle East conflict.
Trump is expected to seek China's help to resolve the costly and unpopular conflict, which he launched with Israel in late February, but analysts say he is unlikely to get the support he wants.
Data on Wednesday showed that U.S. producer prices posted their biggest increase in four years in April, boosted by soaring costs for goods and services, the latest sign of accelerating inflation.
The U.S. Senate approved Kevin Warsh as chair of the Federal Reserve as the U.S. central bank grapples with intensifying inflation that may make it hard to push through the interest-rate cuts that Trump has demanded.
While gold is considered a hedge against inflation, higher interest rates tend to weigh on the non-yielding metal.
Meanwhile, gold discounts in India widened to a record of more than $200 an ounce on Wednesday, as a surge in prices after an import duty hike triggered investor selling in an already weak demand environment, bullion dealers told Reuters.
Spot silver fell 0.9% to $87.18 per ounce, platinum slid 0.4% to $2,129.15, and palladium was down 0.3% at $1,495.75.