Investing.com - Gold prices pressed higher on Thursday as a record surge in stocks showed signs of fading and political uncertainties supported demand for the safe haven metal.
At 4:33 AM ET (11:33 GMT), gold futures for February delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose $5.70, or 0.45%, to $1,275.45 a troy ounce.
The Dow jumped more than 1,000 points - a record climb in points -- on Wednesday but that rally began to fizzle, with U.S. futures pointing to a lower open.
"I think worries regarding the U.S. government shutdown as well as lack of clarity over whether the U.S.-Sino negotiations (over trade) will go well or not still remain," said Norihiro Fujito, chief investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.
The U.S. government remains in a partial shutdown with no signs of immediate relief as President Donald Trump insists on funding for a southern border wall.
Worries also remain over the relationship between the U.S. and China, the world’s two largest economies. Although markets applauded reports that trade negotiations between Washington and Beijing would resume in January, the positive news did little to assure investors that an eventual deal would be made.
Gold surged 4% so far in December as investors rotated out of stocks and into the safe haven asset.
In other metals trading, silver futures gained 0.14% at $15.123 a troy ounce by 4:34 AM ET (11:34 GMT).
Palladium futures inched up 0.05% to $1,188.25 an ounce, while sister metal platinum dipped 0.15% at $797.85.
In base metals, copper traded down 0.78% to $2.679 a pound.
-- Reuters contributed to this report.