* Gold and silver technically pretty bullish -analyst
* Palladium rises to a record high of $1,704.59/oz
* GRAPHIC-2019 asset returns: http://tmsnrt.rs/2jvdmXl (Updates prices)
By K. Sathya Narayanan
Oct 10 (Reuters) - Gold prices retreated from a one-week peak on Thursday, while palladium prices marked an all-time high, after a report suggested that China wants to reach an agreement with the United States to avoid further escalation of a ongoing trade row.
Spot gold XAU= fell 0.6% to $1,497.01 per ounce by 01:51 p.m. EDT (1751 GMT), having earlier hit a one-week high.
U.S. gold futures GCcv1 settled down 0.8% at $1,500.90 an ounce.
"It is all about the tariffs. It is the he-said-she-said that whips the market back and forth. Right now you have the short-term traders selling gold on the tariff news," said Michael Matousek, head trader at U.S. Global Investors.
Chinese Vice Premier Liu He said that Beijing is willing to reach an agreement with the Washington on matters both sides care about, China's Xinhua state news agency reported. gold rose to $1,516.77 - its highest since Oct. 3 - on a report that the Chinese delegation was planning to leave Washington after just a day of minister-level meetings, a day earlier than expected.
Trade talks between the two countries started on Thursday. have been on edge for months over the U.S.-China trade tensions. If negotiations break down again, nearly all Chinese goods imports into the United States - more than $500 billion - could be subject to punitive tariffs by Dec. 15. major concern is that nothing is going to come out of these negotiations, just kicking the can further down the road, according to Daniel Pavilonis, senior market strategist at RJO Futures.
"So, if there is some type of an agreement, depending on what type of agreement it is, you would probably see a gold sell-off, at least that would be the initial reaction," Pavilonis said, adding "gold and silver, from a technical standpoint, look pretty bullish."
Palladium XPD= was 0.9% higher at $1,697.62, having hit a record $1,704.59.
"For palladium, heightening (U.S.-China) tensions had actually weighed but prices have remained elevated as the market was undersupplied," said Suki Cooper, precious metals analyst at Standard Chartered (LON:STAN) Bank.
However, "as we had some positive trade developments (today), that has helped to support sentiment for more industry buyers."
She added that inflows into exchange-traded funds suggested there was incremental demand for palladium but speculators could drive price fluctuations in the near term.
Platinum XPT= rose 1% to $900.84 an ounce, while silver XAG= fell 1% to $17.53 per ounce.