* Silver on track for best month since June 2016
* Platinum set to post biggest monthly gain since Jan 2018
* Gold up nearly 8% so far this month(Updates prices)
By Brijesh Patel
Aug 30 (Reuters) - Gold eased on Friday as equity marketsand the dollar firmed, but fears of a global economic slowdownand uncertainty about the U.S.-China trade war kept thesafe-haven metal on track for its fourth straight monthly rise.
Spot gold was down 0.1% at $1,526 per ounce by 1342GMT. However, the metal has gained nearly 8% so far this month.
U.S. gold futures were steady at $1,536.80 an ounce.
"The trade war rhetoric has been toned down somewhat, whichhas lifted stocks and bond yields, and attracted some profittaking in gold," Saxo Bank commodity strategist Ole Hansen said,adding a stronger dollar was also pressuring gold.
"However, even though we may see an improvement on the tradefront, which is doubtful, economic activity is still slowingdown; that cannot turn around overnight. So, the underlyingsupport from lower bond yields is still there."
Weighing on gold's appeal, the dollar index hit aone-month high en route to its best week in two months.
Global stock markets rose after the United States and Chinashowed a willingness to resolve their trade dispute by returningto the negotiating table.
China's commerce ministry also said a September round ofmeetings was being discussed by the two sides, but added it wasimportant for Washington to cancel a tariff increase.
"Gold will have a very high beta to any reduction in tradetensions given that they have driven so much of its rally,"OANDA analyst Jeffrey Halley wrote in a note.
Gold prices have risen more than $100 so far this month,mainly driven by the trade war between the world's biggesteconomics and heightened fears over a global downturn.
The inversion of the U.S. yield curve, where short-datedyields are running above long-dated ones, has also unsettledinvestors as it often precedes a recession.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Centralbank are widely expected to cut rates next month to stimulatethe economy.
Federal funds futures implied traders saw a 96%chance of a 25 basis-point rate cut by the U.S. central banknext month.
Lower interest rates decrease the opportunity cost ofholding non-yielding bullion.
Elsewhere, silver rose 0.4% to $18.31 per ounce andeyed its biggest monthly percentage rise since June 2016,gaining 13% so far in August.
Platinum gained 1.4% to $928.75 an ounce, holdingnear a more than one-year high and heading for its best monthsince January 2018.
Palladium jumped 4.1% to $1,535.50 per ounce, itshighest in a month.
(Reporting by Brijesh Patel in BengaluruEditing by Edmund Blair, Kirsten Donovan)