By Brijesh Patel
(Reuters) – Gold prices fell more than 1% on Monday, as the dollar held firm and hopes for de-escalation in U.S.-China trade tensions dented appetite for safe-haven assets.
Spot gold was down 0.9% at $3,289.97 an ounce as of 0843 GMT. U.S. gold futures eased 0.1% to $3,301.
The dollar index, which measures the U.S. currency against a basket of others, rose 0.3%, making gold less attractive for other currency holders. [USD/]
“Market sees trade tensions de-escalating and is less concerned about the Fed independence, reducing the demand for safe-haven assets for now,” said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo.
“With the Fed still expected to cut interest rates later this year, we still look for gold to retest the $3,500/oz mark.”
U.S. President Donald Trump said talks on tariffs were taking place with China.
Last week, the Trump administration signalled openness to de-escalate the trade war between the world’s two largest economies that has raised fears of recession.
On Friday, China exempted some U.S. imports from its steep tariffs, but quickly knocked down Trump’s assertion that negotiations were underway.
Gold, often used as a safe store of value during times of political and financial uncertainty, rose to an all-time high of $3,500.05 per ounce last week owing to trade tensions, central bank demand and firm investment demand.
Apart from more clarity on U.S. trade policy, investors this week will also be waiting on a series of U.S. economic data due for release for cues on the Federal Reserve’s rate cut path.
Key data releases this week include the U.S. job openings report on Tuesday, Personal Consumption Expenditures on Wednesday and the non-farm payrolls report on Friday.
Elsewhere, spot silver slipped 0.2% to $33.01 an ounce, platinum gained 0.7% to $978.01 and palladium rose 0.2% to $950.04.
(Reporting by Brijesh Patel and Anmol Choubey in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman and Krishna Chandra Eluri)
