March 2 (Reuters) - Gold prices held little changed neartwo-month lows on Friday, as the dollar eased after U.S.President Donald Trump announced plans to impose heavy tariffson imported steel and aluminum.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= was flat at $1,316.13 an ounce at 0124GMT. Prices fell to their lowest since Jan. 2 to $1,302.61 inthe previous session, under pressure from expectations of U.S.interest rate hikes.
* U.S. gold futures GCcv1 were up 0.9 percent at $1,317.1per ounce.
* The dollar index .DXY , which measures the greenbackagainst a basket of major currencies, was down 0.1 percent at90.252.
* The index shed 0.4 percent overnight after Trump announcedplans to impose hefty tariffs on imported steel and aluminum toprotect U.S. producers, sparking fears of an imminent trade war. USD/
* Trump said the duties of 25 percent on steel and 10percent on aluminum would be formally announced next weekalthough White House officials later said some details stillneeded to be ironed out. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said on Thursdaythe U.S. economy does not appear to be running hot, even as theinfluential head of the New York Fed suggested a faster pace ofinterest rate increases may still be in the offing for 2018. Traders of U.S. short-term interest-rate futures onThursday pared bets the Fed will deliver a fourth rate hike thisyear after the U.S. President said he would impose tariffs onsteel and aluminum. International Monetary Fund Managing Director ChristineLagarde said she saw positive and negative effects from a"complicated" U.S. tax overhaul, including a near-term growthbump that risks overheating the U.S. economy and a problematicrise in debt. The Perth Mint's sales of gold and silver products fell inFebruary for the first time in three months, the mint said in ablog post on its website on Thursday. SPDR Gold Trust GLD , the world's largest gold-backedexchange-traded fund, said its holdings rose 0.35 percent to833.98 tonnes on Thursday from 831.03 tonnes on Wednesday. Physical gold demand in most Asian hubs gained ground thisweek due to a fall in prices and as activity picked up followingregional holidays, although a good portion of consumers in Indiaheld off purchases, hoping for a steeper dip in rates. AHEAD (IN GMT)
0700 Germany
Import prices
Jan
0700 Germany
Retail sales
Jan
1000 Euro zone
Producer prices
Jan
1345 U.S.
ISM-New York index
Feb