July 16 (Reuters) - Futures tracking Canada's blue-chip

stocks edged lower on Thursday as gold prices slipped, while

investors assessed worsening Middle East tensions and avoided

riskier bets.

September futures on the S&P/TSX index were down

0.2% at 06:00 a.m. ET.

* Gold prices slipped as uncertainty over the Middle East

conflict revived inflation concerns. Spot gold and silver

were down 0.6% and 1.8%, respectively.

* Brent crude futures also fell 1%, while West Texas

Intermediate Crude shed 0.6% but hovered near one-month

highs as traders weighed supply risks due to the conflict.

* On the trade front, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson

Greer noted progress in formal trade talks with Mexico, while

discussions with Canada had yet to produce concessions sought by

President Donald Trump as he pushes to reduce U.S. trade

deficits with the two countries.

* Earlier this month, the Trump administration said it will

not renew the USMCA trade agreement, but that the pact would

remain in effect until the issues were resolved or the agreement

terminated.

* In company news, Canadian telecom provider Cogeco

Communications ( CGEAF ) missed third-quarter revenue estimates

late on Wednesday, on a lower U.S. subscriber base.

* Meanwhile, financial stocks were boosted by upbeat U.S.

bank earnings, helping the main index gain a record high.

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