BENGALURU, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Gold was steady on Tuesday amid simmering U.S.-China trade tensions after a new set of tariffs came into effect, while investors stuck to the sidelines ahead of a U.S. Federal Reserve meeting.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= was barely changed at $1,198.28 by 0056 GMT.
* U.S. gold futures were down 0.2 percent at $1,202.60 an ounce.
* Investors await details from the two-day Federal Reserve meeting beginning on Tuesday, when the U.S. central bank is expected to raise benchmark interest rates and shed light on the path for future rate hikes.
* Higher U.S. interest rates typically pressure gold, since it costs to store and insure, but does not pay interest.
* The United States and China imposed fresh tariffs on each other's goods as the world's biggest economies showed no signs of backing down from a trade dispute that is expected to knock global economic growth. Although gold is generally considered to be a safe-haven asset, the months-long trade rift between Washington and Beijing has instead prompted investors to buy U.S. dollars in the belief that the United States has less to lose from the dispute. The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies .DXY edged up 0.1 percent to 94.254.
* Speculators increased their net short position in COMEX gold contracts in the week to Sept. 18, U.S. data showed on Friday. CFTC/
* Palladium XPD= hit its highest since Feb. 27 at $1,060.70 on Monday and was last steady at $1,058.
* India is likely to increase import duties on precious stones, certain types of steel and electronics but will spare gold to prevent smuggling, a finance ministry official said on Monday. Canada's Barrick Gold Corp ABX.TO has agreed to buy Randgold Resources Ltd RRS.L in an all-stock deal valuing the Africa-focused miner at $6.5 billion, to create the world's largest gold producer in an industry under investor pressure to put capital to good use. Unidentified assailants on Sunday kidnapped three people working at a gold mine run by Ghana-based Balaji in northeastern Burkina Faso, near the border with Mali, a company official told Reuters on Monday.