Gold prices inch down as global political tensions ease

BENGALURU (Reuters) - Gold prices edged down early on Friday as global political tensions eased, but expectations for rising inflation supported demand for the safe-have asset.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold was down 0.1 percent at $1,344.20 an ounce at 0044 GMT, while U.S. gold futures fell 0.2 percent to $1,346.60 per ounce. Spot gold is also down 0.1 percent so far this week.

* U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he hoped a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un would be successful, while Western missile strikes in Syria were less extensive than some had feared.

* Investors were also relieved that no new U.S. demands on trade came out of a summit between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. President Donald Trump.

* Asian shares slipped on Friday as a warning on smartphone demand from the world's largest contract chipmaker slugged the tech sector, while lofty oil prices stirred inflation fears and undermined sovereign bonds.

* The relatively optimistic backdrop in the United States should support the Federal Reserve in raising short-term rates at least twice more in 2018, traders and analysts said.

The U.S. economy, while not firing on all cylinders, has remained on a steady growth path which has assured the Fed it should stick with its current pace of rate increases.

* Bank of England Governor Mark Carney on Thursday acknowledged the recent mixed domestic economic readings, which reinforced the view the BOE would raise rates gradual over the next few years.

* Meanwhile, Iran warned the United States on Thursday of "unpleasant" consequences if Washington pulls out of a multinational nuclear deal, Iranian state TV reported.

* Work has resumed at two gold mines operated by Randgold Resources in Mali, after strikes that halted production since Wednesday, a senior union official told Reuters.

* Global diamond giant De Beers is rolling out an app to help small-scale, artisanal diamond miners in Sierra Leone certify that gems they pry from the soil are legal, the Anglo American unit said on Thursday.

* CME on Thursday lowered margins for trading palladium, platinum futures.

(Reporting by Nallur Sethuraman in Bengaluru; Editing by Joseph Radford)