· Gold dipped to a more than five-week low on Monday as optimism about a possible trade deal between the United States and China helped whet risk appetite, while platinum shed 3 percent.
· The world's two largest economies appeared close to a deal that would roll back U.S. tariffs on at least $200 billion worth of Chinese goods and possibly end their long-drawn trade spat, a source briefed on negotiations said on Sunday.
· Spot gold was down 0.42 percent at $1,287.84 per ounce at 1:57 p.m. EST, after falling to $1,282.50 earlier in the session, its lowest since Jan. 25.
The precious metal slipped below a key level of $1,300 on Friday.
Meanwhile, U.S. gold futures settled $11.70 lower at $1,287.50 per ounce.
· "There is a risk-on (sentiment) in the markets with the positive U.S.-China talk, so gold is naturally pulling back on strong equities, strong dollar and good geopolitical news," said Bob Haberkorn, senior market strategist at RJO Futures.
· U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping could reach a formal trade deal at a summit around March 27, given progress in talks between the two countries, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.
· Global markets cheered the news, indicating improved demand for riskier assets, and then fell more than 250 points as Wall Street digested weak U.S. economic data.
· The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of other currencies, was at a 10-day high, with rising U.S. Treasury yields translating into more demand for the currency.
· "It seems that investors' appetite for gold has suddenly vanished," ActivTrades chief analyst Carlo Alberto De Casa said in a note. "From a technical point of view, the fall below $1,300 is making space for further declines.
· Indicative of sentiment, holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, fell 1.5 percent on Friday, their biggest one-day percentage fall since December 2016.
· Amongst other precious metals, platinum shed 2.23 percent to $838.25 an ounce while palladium was down about 1 percent at $1,528.74 per ounce.
· Bank of America Merrill Lynch lifted its forecast for palladium, expecting it to hit a key $2,000 level this year. The bank said it expects platinum prices to average $883 for the same period.
· Earlier in the session, palladium rose to $1,560, within striking distance of an all-time peak of $1,565.09 scaled on Feb. 26 due to a sustained deficit for the autocatalyst metal.
· Silver declined to a more than two-month low of $15.02 an ounce, and last traded 0.69 percent lower at $15.09.
Reference: CNBC
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