* SPDR Gold holdings jump 1% on Wednesday
* Gold may gain further to $1,524/oz - technicals
*
(Updates prices)
By Eileen Soreng
Aug 8 (Reuters) - Gold eased slightly on Thursday after a surge above $1,500 for the first time since April 2013 in the previous session in response to U.S.-China trade uncertainties and growing signs of an economic slowdown.
Spot gold XAU= was down 0.2% at $1,497.67 per ounce at 1212 GMT.
U.S. gold futures GCcv1 fell 0.7% to $1,509.30 per ounce.
"Given how aggressively gold has gained in the past few days, it's only natural for prices to retrace before pushing back higher," FXTM analyst Lukman Otunuga said.
The metal has risen more than 17% so far this year, and about $100 over the past week, in a stellar run propelled by trade tensions and an increasingly dovish shift in policy by central banks amid fears of slowing growth.
"The situation has not changed. Political tensions continue to exist, the trade war is still going on, so I would not be surprised to see higher prices" said Afshin Nabavi, senior vice president at precious metals trader MKS SA, adding prices could move in a $1,475- $1,530 range in the absence of any further catalysts.
Global stock markets enjoyed a tentative recovery following sharp falls in response to an escalation in the trade war, when China allowed the yuan to weaken beyond the key 7 yuan per dollar mark, viewed as a retaliation to a U.S. threat of additional tariffs. MKTS/GLOB
"Any reconciliation signal between Trump and China could send investors back to riskier assets," ActivTrades analyst Carlo Alberto De Casa said in a note.
But other factors, including a lower interest rate environment, was likely to keep safe-haven bullion supported, analysts said.
On Thursday, the Philippine central bank cut its benchmark lending rates, following similar moves by New Zealand, India and Thailand, among others. the U.S. Federal Reserve's rate cut last week, interest rates futures suggest traders are betting the Fed will cut rates three more times by the year-end to avert a recession. FEDWATCH another tailwind for gold, U.S. 10-year Treasury yields US10YT=RR dropped further below three-month rates, an inversion that has reliably predicted recessions in the past. US/
Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust GLD , the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, rose 1.02% to 845.42 tonnes on Wednesday. GOL/ETF
Gold may gain further to $1,524, as it has cleared resistance at $1,497, according to Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao.
Elsewhere, silver XAG= dipped 0.6% to $17.01 per ounce, after hitting a more than one-year high in the previous session.
Platinum XPT= fell 0.5% to $857.54, while palladium XPD= rose 0.6% to $1,422.96 an ounce.
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