Sept 11 (Reuters) - Gold prices edged up on Wednesday, buthovered near a four-week low hit in the previous session as riskappetite improved amid hopes of an interest rate cut by theEuropean Central Bank and fiscal stimulus measures from Germany,Europe's largest economy.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold was up 0.4% at $1,491.60 per ounce, as of0120 GMT. In the previous session, prices fell to their lowestsince Aug. 13 at $1,483.90.
* U.S. gold futures were flat at $1,499.3 an ounce.
* The dollar index was steady, while Asian stockmarkets held firm and bond yields rose on Wednesday.
* A senior White House adviser tamped down expectations onTuesday for the next round of U.S.-China trade talks, urginginvestors, businesses and the public to be patient aboutresolving the trade dispute between the world's two largesteconomies.
* As the fallout from the U.S.-China trade war broadens,Bank of Japan policymakers are more open to discussing thepossibility of expanding stimulus at their board meeting on Sept18-19, sources familiar with their thinking say.
* Position unwinding was also apparent in bond markets aheadof key central bank policy announcements including the EuropeanCentral Bank on Thursday and the U.S. Federal Reserve next week.
* Deutsche Bank said on Tuesday that it now forecastsanother 100 basis points of rate cuts and see growth falling tobelow 1.5% by mid-2020, assuming there is no escalation in thetrade war between the United States and China.
* Germany's 30-year government bond yield rose into positiveterritory on Tuesday for the first time in over a month, liftedby expectations for fiscal stimulus and uncertainty over whetherthe ECB will launch asset purchases this week.
* German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday hergovernment was sticking to its balanced budget policy, temperingexpectations for fiscal stimulus in Europe's largest economy.
* The recent drop in long-term bond yields below shorterones in key sovereign bond markets is not "a vote of confidence"in the economic outlook, the head of the Bank of England said onTuesday.
* South Africa's main platinum mining union said it hadformally declared that wage talks with Anglo American Platinum(Amplats) and Sibanye-Stillwater weredeadlocked, raising the possibility of strike action if theissue cannot be resolved.
(Reporting by Eileen Soreng in Bengaluru, Editing by SherryJacob-Phillips)