Gold slipped earlier Monday to a one-week low amid signs that the U.S. and China were edging closer to a trade deal.
Equities and the dollar rallied, making gold less attractive as an alternative investment. Gold prices skyrocketed earlier this year as a hedge against uncertainty as the U.S.-China trade standoff worsened.
The Chinese government on Sunday called for stronger protections of intellectual property rights, addressing a key U.S. concern. U.S. President Donald Trump told “Fox and Friends” Friday that the two sides were “very close” to a phase one deal. And Chinese President Xi Jinping said Friday that his country wants to work toward a phase-one deal that’s based in part on “equality,” according to a Bloomberg report.
February gold futures settled unchanged at a one-week low of $1,470.50 an ounce Friday on Comex. Bullion was little changed on the week and is down 2.9% so far this month. Speculators boosted their bullish positions in Comex gold and silver contracts in the week ended Nov. 19, the weekly Commitments of Traders report from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed Friday.
The dollar rebounded Friday after a survey showed that U.S. manufacturing output accelerated in November to the fastest rate in seven months. Services activity beat expectations, rising to the highest level in four months
Investors continue to keep a close eye on economic news for indications on future Federal Reserve actions after the central bank cut rates for three consecutive times. The CME FedWatch Tool showed a 93.4% probability that the Federal Open Market Committee would keep rates unchanged at the next meeting Dec. 11, while there were 6.6% odds on a hike.
In economic news this week, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak Monday in Providence. U.S. consumer spending, GDP, jobless claims and durable goods data are due out Wednesday. U.S. financial markets are closed Thursday for the Thanksgiving Day holiday. China’s manufacturing PMI data comes out Friday.
Silver fell 0.4% Friday and fallen 5.1% so far this month. The most-active March contract settled at $17.15 an ounce Friday on Comex. Spot platinum and spot palladium both fell last week.
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