Gold prices inched lower on Monday, as equities gained after the U.S. Trade Representative described last week’s Sino-U.S. trade talks as “productive.”
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold was down 0.3% at $1,512.91 per ounce, as of 0116 GMT. Prices had climbed to a more than one-week high of $1,516.81 in the previous session.
* U.S. gold futures were up 0.3% at $1,519.8 per ounce.
* Spot palladium rose 0.8% to $1,654.77 per ounce, after hitting a fresh high of $1,657.09 earlier in the session.
* The dollar gained on Monday, while Wall Street stock futures edged up in early trade, setting an upbeat tone for Asian markets.
* A U.S.-China trade deal appeared elusive on Friday after Chinese officials unexpectedly cancelled a visit to farms in Montana and Nebraska as deputy trade negotiators wrapped up two days of talks in Washington.
* But both sides later published positive statements, with the U.S. Trade Representative’s office describing the talks as “productive” and China’s Commerce Ministry calling them “constructive.” October’s high-level talks remain on track.
* After delivering a split-decision rate cut last week, U.S. Federal Reserve officials put their divisions on full display Friday, with warnings of a slowdown on one hand and financial risks on the other bookending talk of how well things are going.
* Saudi Arabia will seek to make a case at a global gathering in New York this week for concerted action to punish and deter arch foe Iran after strikes on Saudi oil plants rattled global markets and exposed the kingdom’s vulnerability to attack.
* U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday approved sending American troops to bolster Saudi Arabia’s air and missile defences after the attack on the kingdom’s oil facilities.
* Global economic conditions are very complicated, and the European Central Bank will likely have to take more action “in the coming months, quarters and years,” ECB governing council member Bostjan Vasle said in an interview aired on Sunday.
* Hedge funds and money managers raised their bullish positions in COMEX gold and trimmed bullish bets on silver contracts in the week to Sept. 17, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said on Friday.
* Holdings at SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, rose 1.19% to 894.15 tonnes on Friday.
Fonte: Reuters
