May 14 (Reuters) - Gold prices ticked up on Thursday,

buoyed by a weaker dollar, as investors focused on talks between

U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold rose 0.3% to $4,699.87 per ounce by 0045

GMT. U.S. gold futures for June delivery were steady at

$4,706.90.

* Trump heads into a series of meetings with Xi in Beijing,

aiming to secure economic wins, maintain a fragile trade truce

and navigate thorny issues such as the Iran war.

* The dollar eased, making greenback-priced bullion more

affordable for holders of other currencies.

* U.S. producer prices posted their biggest increase in four

years in April, boosted by soaring costs for goods and services,

the latest sign of accelerating inflation amid the Middle East

conflict.

* The U.S. Senate approved Kevin Warsh as chair of the

Federal Reserve as the U.S. central bank grapples with

intensifying inflation that may make it hard to push through the

interest-rate cuts that Trump has demanded.

* Boston Fed President Susan Collins told the Wall Street

Journal that she expects inflation pressures from the Iran war

to eventually subside and that the current shock has masked

evidence that underlying inflation is still headed down.

* Gold discounts in India widened to a record of more than

$200 an ounce on Wednesday, as a surge in prices after an import

duty hike triggered investor selling in an already weak demand

environment, bullion dealers told Reuters.

* Spot silver fell 0.4% to $87.64 per ounce, platinum

gained 0.7% to $2,151.38, and palladium was up

0.4% at $1,506.19.

DATA/EVENTS (GMT)

0600 UK GDP Est 3M/3M, MM, YY Mar

0600 UK Services MM, YY Mar

0600 UK GDP Prelim QQ, YY Q1

0600 UK Manufacturing Output MM Mar

1230 US Import Prices YY Apr

1230 US Initial Jobless Clm May 9 w/e

1230 US Retail Sales MM Apr

(Reporting by Pablo Sinha in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu

Sahu)