PRECIOUS-Gold rises on global trade war, soft dollar

• China censures tariff escalation as "blackmail"
• Fed minutes due on Wednesday
• Platinum ticks up 1%

By Anmol Choubey

April 8 (Reuters) - Gold prices drifted higher on Tuesday, aided by a global trade war between the U.S. and its main trading partners, and a softer dollar.

Spot gold XAU= rose 1% to $3,013.34 an ounce by 1125 GMT, after hitting its lowest level since March 13 on Monday. U.S. gold futures GCcv1 gained 1.9% to $3,028.40.

Spot gold remains nearly 15% higher for the year, hitting a record high of $3,167.57 on April 3, driven by geopolitical and economic uncertainties, strong central bank demand, and increased flows into gold-backed exchange traded funds. GOL/GOL/ETF

"Gold is rebounding supported by a weaker U.S. dollar and persistent uncertainty surrounding trade war developments," said Zain Vawda, an analyst at MarketPulse by OANDA.

The U.S. dollar index .DXY edged down making greenback-priced bullion less expensive for overseas buyers.USD/

China refused to bow to what it called "blackmail" from the U.S. as a global trade war ignited by President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs showed little sign of abating. The European Commission said it had offered a "zero-for-zero" tariff deal, while striking back with 25% tariffs on some U.S. imports.

"If tariffs continue to create uncertainty for market participants alongside anticipation of further rate cuts, this combination could pave the way for a renewed rally in gold prices," Vawda added.

The markets will be closely monitoring minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting due on Wednesday.

Traders are expecting a 97-basis-point rate cut by the Fed by the end of the year, with 40% anticipating it to begin as early as May. Zero-yield bullion tends to thrive in a low interest rate environment. USDIRPR

"The $3,000 is a very important psychological level so that's an important support level right now... (and) if it goes through the resistance level of $3,050 then I can see it's reaching $3,100," said Ricardo Evangelista, senior analyst at brokerage firm ActivTrades.

Spot silver XAG= rose 0.7% to $30.34 an ounce, platinum XPT= firmed 1.4% to $925.55 and palladium XPD= was steady at $919.03.