· Gold prices touched a more than one-week high on Monday as fears of a protracted U.S.-China trade war hurt risk sentiment, while poor economic data from the United States bolstered bets of a U.S. Federal Reserve rate cut.
· The metal touched $US1,287.32 earlier in the session, its highest level since May 17.
· US gold futures were 0.1 per cent higher at $US1,284.40 an ounce.
· The US markets were closed for a public holiday.
· “Gold has really reversed earlier losses as risk appetite in the market remains rather shaky,” said Benjamin Lu, an analyst with Singapore-based Phillip Futures.
“U.S. sanctions on Huawei and even the rest of the Chinese technology firms have really aggravated trade tensions.”
· China on Friday denounced U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for fabricating rumours after he said the chief executive of China’s Huawei Technologies Co Ltd was lying about his company’s ties to the Beijing government.
· US President Donald Trump said on Monday he was "not yet ready" to make a deal with China, hinting that the world's biggest economies are far from a trade agreement.
· "Some of the comments made by Trump over the trade talks with China were not overly optimistic," ING analyst Warren Patterson said.
"The continued uncertainty around trade is helping to support prices... that uncertainty is increasing demand for safe-haven assets."
· A string of weak data from the United States late last week stirred up concerns that its protracted trade-war with China has started taking a toll on the country’s economy, and promoted bets for a much expected rate cut by the Federal Reserve.
· Over the weekend, U.S. President Donald Trump repeated a complaint that the Federal Reserve’s policies have kept U.S. economic growth from reaching its full potential.
· Further uncertainties emerged after British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Friday she would quit after failing to deliver Brexit, setting up a contest that will install a new British prime minister who could pursue a cleaner break with the European Union.
· “The rise of volatility triggered by geopolitics benefited the yellow metal and if the UK political game of thrones and U.S.-China trade keep uncertainty levels high, gold could once again jump above $1,300,” Alfonso Esparza, senior market analyst at OANDA, said in a note.
· Gold may retest resistance at $US1,290 an ounce, a break above which could lead to a gain to the next resistance at $US1,295, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said.
· Among other precious metals, silver dipped 0.1 per cent to $US14.55 per ounce.
· Platinum rose 0.8 per cent to $US808.75 an ounce and palladium was up 0.1 per cent at $US1,336.51.
Reference: CNBC, Business News
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