Investing.com - Gold keeps getting yanked around by on-again, off-again U.S.-China talks. On Thursday, the word was those were on again, dealing a fresh blow to gold prices which managed to stay steady in two previous sessions.
Gold futures for December delivery on New York’s COMEX settled down $10.60, or 0.7%, at $1,463.60 per ounce. It closed virtually unchanged in the previous session, sliding just a dime.
Spot gold, which tracks live trades in bullion, was down $9.55, or 0.7%, at $1,464.65 by 3:24 PM ET (20:24 GMT).
China will strive to reach an initial trade agreement with the United States as both sides keep communication channels open, the Chinese commerce ministry said on Thursday.
The Wall Street Journal also reported that Beijing has invited U.S. trade negotiators for a new round of face-to-face talks ahead of President Donald Trump’s threat to pile another round of tariffs on Chinese goods starting Dec. 15.
However, global equities and the U.S. currency markets are still nervous about the fate of the impending “phase-one” trade deal after Washington passed two bills intended to support protesters in Hong Kong and send a warning to China on its human rights policies.
Gold prices came under pressure after Wednesday’s release of the Federal Reserve’s minutes from its October meeting that clearly showed central bankers at the Fed’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) against a fourth straight rate cut in December.
“Gold continues to trade in a range near $1470/oz, as the Hong Kong bill adds an essence of worry to the trade negotiations, while on the other side the FOMC minutes confirmed a Fed that is indeed on pause for the time being,” TD Securities said in a note.
“With that said, President Trump resuming his pressure on the Fed to cut interest rates further, has some gold bugs anticipating that the White House could be looking for reassurances that the Fed is ready to provide a backstop to the government should the trade war escalate,” it added.