*

Zelenskiy to meet Trump in Washington later on Monday

*

Palladium gains after hitting lowest level since July 10

*

Powell to speak at Fed's annual conference in Jackson

Hole,

Wyoming, scheduled for August 21-23

(Updates prices for US mid-session trading)

By Noel John

Aug 18 (Reuters) -

Gold prices were largely steady on Monday, as investors

focused on U.S. President Donald Trump's meeting with Ukrainian

and European leaders later in the day, and the Federal Reserve's

annual symposium in Jackson Hole this week.

Spot gold was flat at $3,334.81 per ounce at 11:56

a.m. ET (1556 GMT), after hitting its lowest level since August

1 earlier in the session. U.S. gold futures for December

delivery fell 0.1% to $3,379.70.

The U.S. dollar gained 0.3%, making greenback-priced bullion

more expensive for other currency holders.

The key event for investors on Monday is a White House meeting

between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy,

joined by European leaders, as Washington pushes for a swift

peace deal to end Europe's deadliest conflict in eight decades.

This follows Trump's meeting with Russian President Vladimir

Putin on Friday, where the two leaders agreed to pursue a peace

deal without implementing a ceasefire.

"There was not much reaction in gold to the Putin-Trump meeting.

I think we'll continue in this price range. The next inflection

point is the Federal Reserve (conference)," said Marex analyst

Edward Meir.

Minutes from the U.S. central bank's July policy meeting are due

on Wednesday, ahead of the Fed's annual conference in Jackson

Hole, Wyoming, scheduled for August 21-23. Fed Chair Jerome

Powell is expected to speak at the event.

Investors will be watching out for Powell's remarks on the

economic outlook.

While markets have already priced in a 25 basis point cut,

there's an outside chance of a 50 basis point reduction, which

could drive gold prices higher, Meir said.

Gold tends to perform strongly in environments with low

interest rates and heightened uncertainty.

Elsewhere, spot silver rose 0.1% at $38.02 per ounce,

and platinum rose 0.1% to $1,336.55.

Spot palladium gained 1.1% to $1,124.04 after

falling to its lowest level since July 10 earlier in the

session.

(Reporting by Noel John in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)